3 shot, 1 stabbed in fight at Phoenix airport on Christmas night
Three people were shot and a fourth person stabbed as a fight turned violent inside a terminal at the Phoenix airport on Christmas night, police said.
The fight occurred near a restaurant outside the airport's security checkpoints, Sgt. Mayra Reeson said at a news conference at Phoenix Sky Harbor's Terminal 4.
Airport officials said the report of gunshots outside the restaurant came just after 9:40 p.m. The restaurant is located on the airport's third level, which includes restaurants and shops outside the airport's security screening area.
Four people were taken to the hospital, one woman with life-threatening injuries and three men in stable condition, Reeson said.
The five people involved were familiar with each other, she said. Their physical altercation escalated when someone pulled out a gun and began shooting, according to Reeson.
“I do believe that this was a family dispute that escalated,” she said during a press briefing. "We do not believe there is any suspect out there outstanding. I want to put everyone at ease."
No other community members or airport travelers were injured, she said.
Airport operations have resumed and no flights are affected by the shooting investigation, Phoenix police posted on X. The Terminal 4 A security checkpoint and the sky train at Terminal 4 were previously paused, airport spokesperson Eric Everts said.
Reeson said she did not immediately know whether the people involved were from Arizona.
When officers arrived, they found three people with gunshot wounds and another person in a Terminal 4 parking garage with "at least one stab wound," Reeson said.
Police detained two people, an underage girl and the adult man with the stab wound, in connection with the shooting. Their identities have not yet been released. One gun was retrieved, Reeson said.
A couple hours after the shooting, another man was arrested after a brief altercation with Phoenix police when he arrived to the airport with numerous firearms, reportedly reacting to a text falsely describing an active shooter, Reeson said.
"There was no active shooter; there never was," Reeson said.
At about 11:30 p.m., officers were seen taking a man without shoes or a shirt into custody, moments before another officer was seen carrying two firearms, including a handgun, in an evidence bag.
Marvin Miller, a cleaner at the airport for three years, said he heard shots from near Terminal 4. He said he had safety concerns about people from outside being able to walk into the airport's terminal.
"I heard three shots. They were different from fireworks. Gunshots are a big difference," said Miller, who was just getting off his shift when he got word of the incident from his coworkers.