The Arizona Republic has new details on the killing of a Phoenix cop yesterday including confirmation that the suspect is an American and that the weapon apparently used in the shooting was an AR-15 assault rifle.
An excerpt from Republic reporter Michael Ferraresi’s excellent story about officer Travis Murphy includes details about the suspect’s citizenship:
A community torn in recent weeks over the role of Phoenix police officers in the implementation of the state’s new immigration law was chilled by reports that the suspected gunman was a Hispanic male with a criminal past that included felony convictions.
After pressure from residents and media, police officials quickly identified the suspect, Danny L. Martinez, as a U.S. citizen born in Tucson.
Martinez, 30, was arrested on suspicion of first-degree murder after tactical-response teams found him hiding naked in a shed a few houses away from the spot where Murphy fell.
“It is sad that when tragedy strikes, the first question out of everyone’s mouth is where the suspect was born at,” said Harris, the city’s Public Safety Manager.
by Jolie McCullough
The Arizona RepublicA Phoenix police officer killed Wednesday was shot with a high-powered rifle, by a gunman who may have fired about a dozen shots, court documents released Thursday morning show.
Officer Travis Murphy, 29, was shot and killed after he and another officer responded about 1:30 a.m. to a suspicious person call in the 1900 block of West Fairmount Avenue, south of Indian School Road, according to the documents. The suspected shooter, Danny Martinez, 30, of Tucson, was arrested on suspicion of first-degree murder and ordered held without bond.
Police said the incident began when two patrol officers tried to stop the driver of a dark Ford Mustang who was driving erratically near Indian School Road and Interstate 17 a few minutes before the suspicious person call. The driver fled the area and was lost in the neighborhood east of the freeway.
About three minutes later, a witness called and said a man had parked a vehicle in front of an empty house and attempted to cover it before running from the carport, the documents said. Another witness heard a crash and looked outside to see the Mustang had hit the back of a parked car before entering in the carport.
Murphy and his partner went to the home to investigate, and he was shot. He suffered multiple gunshot wounds to his waist and legs, police said.
He died in the hospital at about 3:30 a.m. He had a wife and two young children.
Officers immediately began to search for a gunman and found an AR-15-style weapon that they believed matched the casings found near Murphy. Eleven .223-caliber and two 40-caliber casings were found near the officer. Police believed the 40-caliber casings were likely fired from Murphy’s weapon.
Authorities said Martinez was found naked hiding in a shed three houses away from the shooting. Police said he was not compliant with officers, and he was shot with rubber bullets and bitten by a police dog.
Clothing believed to belong to Martinez was found in a nearby dumpster, authorities said.
Martinez was treated at a local hospital before he was booked into jail Wednesday afternoon.