VIDEO: Man fights store employee before being shot, killed by Chandler police

CHANDLER, AZ (3TV/CBS 5) — New surveillance shows a suspect fighting a store employee before he was shot and killed by Chandler police earlier this week. The suspect has been identified as 39-year-old Richard Ring.

Just before noon Wednesday, police responded to a robbery at an Ace Hardware store near Alma School and Warner roads. Officers were told Ring shoplifted from the store and fought with an employee.

Jim Roberts is the owner of the Ace Hardware store and says the aisles of his store turned into chaos. “He was just kinda babbling and jerky, twitchy, kind of. Definitely kind of weird,” he said. “He came to the back door here and tried to get out and one of our team members kinda tried to grab the utility knife at that point. They kinda struggled and the suspect ended up crashing into the wooden door. Then he jumped that wall and headed west.”

Not long after the incident at the hardware store, neighborhood residents began calling 911 about Ring jumping fences and trying to get into their homes. Arizona’s Family later interviewed one of those residents, who said Ring came into his garage yelling for water. Ziggy Sigston says he told Ring to leave and, when he refused, Sigston finally had to pull a gun. Sigston said Ring told him, “if you’re going to shoot me, shoot me in the head or in the heart.” He then left the garage.

Ring was soon found inside another nearby house and as officers began surrounding the home, Ring reportedly went outside armed with a knife. Police told him to drop the knife and when he didn’t, an officer shot him. Ring was pronounced dead at the scene. No officers were hurt. Police say Ring did not have a permanent address but had family ties in Chandler.

Wednesday marked the second officer-involved shooting in Chandler in two days. On Tuesday, officers fired shots at a suspect wanted for shooting his ex-girlfriend. Alan H. Burgener, 40, was arrested and booked into jail on multiple felony charges. Also on Tuesday, officers in Surprise shot and killed a man outside a Walmart store.

The latest incident in Chandler is the 21st officer-involved shooting in Maricopa County and the 27th in the state in 2023.

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