Teen girl killed, 8 others hurt in north Phoenix strip mall mass shooting

PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) -- Police say a teen girl is dead and eight others are hurt after a shooting at a north Phoenix strip mall early Saturday morning. Officials say it happened during a party near 10th Avenue and Hatcher Road after 1 a.m. Detectives believe there was a fight, which led up to the shooting.

Police a 14-year-old girl died after being taken to the hospital, two women were rushed to the hospital with life-threatening injuries, 5 men have minor injuries, and a teen boy also has minor injuries and is expected to be okay. During a news conference, Sgt. Williams said a group of about 100 people were at the strip mall at the time of the shooting. Video from the scene showed several officers and detectives with crime scene tape restricting access between 8th Avenue and 12th Avenue at Hatcher Road. No arrests have been made.

“There were some little girls that ran over there asking if they could hide. The police came just in time, so it was like, they’re there, everything’s ok. And they got up and went in the opposite direction,” said Theresa Juan, who lives nearby.

In response to this latest mass shooting, Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego’s tweeted: “Seems we can’t go a day without another mass shooting. This time, it’s Phoenix, at 10th Avenue & Hatcher. Time has run out. Change must happen now.”

“In that little strip mall, there’s some little recording studio or something. That’s where the parties were happening at. The prior two times they had parties, they had shootings also,” said Chad Martinez, who also lives nearby.

This weekend’s shooting happened just an hour after police say a teenage boy was shot and killed outside his home near 13th and Vogel Avenues, only three blocks away. Last Saturday ended in six people between the ages of 16 and 18 being shot in west Phoenix, resulting in one man’s death. Detectives are asking anyone with information, who saw or heard something or captured cell phone video footage of the shooting to call the Phoenix Police Department or Silent Witness.

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