PHOENIX (AP) - Phoenix police said Monday that one armed robbery suspect surrendered but another was believed to be in a house that caught fire after officers had them surrounded and were repeatedly shot at from inside.
Sgt. Mercedes Fortune said no officers were injured as the standoff stretched on for hours.
She said weapons were repeatedly fired from the home. Authorities responded with tear gas. One suspect finally surrendered. The house caught fire. Because of the danger, police officers handled the fire hoses to spray the house down, but they couldn't go inside.
"The scene is still very active," Fortune said early Monday. "The house is still smoldering, there is still a danger to officers."
azcentral.com reported that the situation began shortly before noon on Sunday when one of the men allegedly pointed a gun at a person who tried to stop them from robbing a business. Police tracked their getaway car to the home, where they barricaded themselves.
Fortune said officers were able to evacuate people from adjacent homes as the standoff stretched on for hours, with more shots fired at authorities, she said.
A large plume of black smoke and flames rose from the home around 8:30 p.m. Sunday.
The cause of that fire was unknown, but officers risked their lives to put it out, Fortune said.
"When you have someone who is actively shooting, we're not going to send our house fire personnel in there; they have no protection like law enforcement does," she said. So officers grabbed the hoses instead.
"Even through all that danger, and being shot at, our officers still engaged and tried to help that suspect by actually putting out the fire and they themselves working the hoses."
"We believe a suspect is still in the home," she added. "We know who this person is. Now it's just a matter of actually going through and making sure that evidence is kept and making sure that we are safe as well."
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