BREAKING NEWS

Suspect in fatal triple shooting has died; police release names of suspect and victims

Adrian Marsh
The Republic | azcentral.com
Phoenix police were at the scene of an officer-involved shooting. Initial reports said three victims are involved.

A man police believe fatally shot three people before engaging in a gun battle with police on Wednesday afternoon in Phoenix has died, officials said Thursday morning.

Sgt. Alan Pfohl, a Phoenix police spokesman, said it wasn't clear if the fatal shot was self-inflicted or if it came from officer gunfire.

The suspect has been identified as 39-year-old Edward Hallinan. 

Police say his victims include 21-year-old Francisco Javier Galindo, 26-year-old Vidal Hernandez-Gutierrez and another man in his 20s. The men were found shot to death in a home near Hallinan's.

Officers had initially been called to the neighborhood near 35th Avenue and Thomas Road at about 4 p.m. Hallinan's wife told the 911 dispatcher that he pointed a gun at her during an argument.

'You hear gunshots all around' 

Raquel Marquez, who lives in the area, said she and her father were standing outside when they saw a man in a white truck shooting a gun.

"We just saw the gunpowder coming out of the truck," she told The Arizona Republic.

Marquez said the man fired five rounds before a helicopter arrived.

"I'm used to it, because you hear gunshots all around in west Phoenix," she added.

She recorded video on her cellphone of an injured person being rolled away on top of a police SUV.

Laurie Holden told The Republic he and his daughter had just arrived home when he heard about 20 shots. He called 911 after his daughter alerted him to someone screaming.

"It felt like we were in a war zone," he said. "I'm sorry for the victims."

Husband pulled gun on wife, police say

Pfohl said officers were dispatched to the neighborhood after a woman reported being in a fight with her husband, who had a rifle and was firing shots.

After officers arrived, they saw a man matching the husband's description — later identified as Hallinan — drive by in a truck and then stop in the street, Pfohl said. 

Officers heard a gunshot coming from the Hallinan's truck. Pfohl said officers began yelling commands, and a second shot was fired from the truck.

Pfohl said an officer with 17 years of police experience fired back. No gunshots came from the truck after that, Pfol said.

A police K-9 was used to remove Hallinan from the truck. He was taken to a hospital, where he died Thursday morning, Pfohl said.

While police were dealing with Hallinan, the pilot of a police helicopter hovering above the scene told officers on the ground that three victims with gunshot wounds could be seen in a yard just west of the original 911 call, Pfohl said.

Officers extracted the men so that fire crews could provide medical care, but all three died at the scene.

Pfohl said no officers were injured in the ordeal.

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