TEMPE — A late-night fight in the heart of downtown Tempe ended with gunfire early Monday, sending one man to the hospital.
Tempe police said a fight broke out between two groups around 12:30 a.m. near Mill Avenue and Fifth Street, according to a department statement reported by FOX 10 Phoenix and The State Press, Arizona State University’s student newspaper. During the fight, police said, one man pulled out a gun and fired, hitting another man.
Arrest made
The victim was taken to a hospital with an injury police described as not life-threatening. The shooter and the rest of his group ran off, but officers later found them and detained everyone involved, The State Press reported. Police made at least one arrest.
Tempe police had not released the names of the suspect or the victim as of Monday afternoon, and they did not say what started the fight or what charges the person arrested may face. The department told The State Press there was “no ASU affiliation” among those involved. The investigation is continuing.
The setting
The intersection sits along the western edge of ASU’s Tempe campus, in a stretch of Mill Avenue lined with bars, restaurants and shops that typically draws large late-night crowds. The State Press noted the shooting happened just off the campus border, though police stressed no one involved was connected to the university.
Police did not say whether the fight began inside or outside any business, whether the two groups knew each other, or whether the gun was legally owned. Officers did say that everyone involved in the fight was located and detained after the group fled.
How to help
Anyone who saw the fight or has video from the area is asked to contact the Tempe Police Department at 480-350-8311, or Silent Witness at 480-WITNESS to remain anonymous.
Thee Arizona Times will update this story if police identify the suspect or announce charges.
Photo: Cygnusloop99 via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0). File photo of the Downtown Tempe light rail station, 2009; not the scene.