3 people shot at east Phoenix strip mall; suspect detained after crash
PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) - Multiple people are seriously hurt after a shooting at a strip mall led to a crash in east Phoenix on Friday night.
Around 9 p.m., Phoenix police officers were called to a shooting at a strip mall near 36th Street and McDowell Road. Officers found three men who had been shot. They were taken to the hospital with serious injuries but are expected to survive. Another person was also injured at the scene, but police say he was struck by debris from the shooting. He was treated on the scene by Phoenix Fire paramedics.
Police say the shooter drove away from the scene, and a witness followed him to 44th Street and Campbell Avenue, which is north of Indian School Road. The suspect then reportedly ran a red light and collided with two other vehicles. The drivers of those vehicles were taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Police say the shooting suspect was detained at the crash scene. He was also taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries and is currently still there. When he’s released, he will be booked into jail on several felony charges. In total, six people were harmed by the suspect during the shooting and crash, police said. An investigation into the shooting is underway.
Fardowsa Mohamed is the owner of the coffee shop that the suspect shot at. Mohamed is from Somalia and bought Noah’s Coffee in the strip mall around eight years ago. She plans to flip it into a Somalian restaurant. Mohamed was there when the shooting happened.
“I don’t get shot, but inside me, I’m not good. You know. Inside me, I feel like damaged and destroyed,” said Mohamed. “I really panicked. It’s something like you never experience before. I never experienced before, such a thing. And I never want to experience it, anymore.”
Mohamed wasn’t hurt during the shooting but says she hasn’t slept or eaten since. She does not plan to relocate and hopes to reopen in a couple of weeks. She says she won’t let the suspect scare her away. “I have to rebuild, but we’re good. We have a good spirit, and we’re going to continue this,” said Mohamed.
Mohamed has a ‘No Firearms or Weapons’ sign posted on her front door. She plans to bring it down and welcome customers with legal firearms to protect themselves. She said the shooting changed her. She hated guns but now plans to buy one and take shooting lessons as extra security.
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