Authorities are investigating a gang-related shooting that killed an 18-year-old man on Tucson’s South Side Wednesday afternoon.
The Tucson Police Department has closed down northbound 12th Avenue from Drexel to Bilby roads. At 6:30 p.m., police expected the road to be closed for several hours while detectives investigate the crime scene, said Sgt. Fabian Pacheco, a department spokesman.
Pacheco said the shooting occurred around 4 p.m. and was caused by a gang-related argument. Police have not released the name of the victim.
The 18-year-old was riding in a car with a friend when he saw the suspected shooter sitting at a bus stop on the east side of 12th Avenue across the street from Mission Manor Park, Pacheco said.
His friend parked the car at the nearby Parkview Apartments, where the victim got out and started arguing with the suspect, Pacheco said.
While the two were arguing, a beige Jeep Grand Cherokee pulled up with a female driver and male passenger.
The suspected shooter brandished a handgun and shot the victim at least once before getting into the Jeep, Pacheco said.
The Jeep drove off and the victim’s friend got into his car and began following it.
The chase ended a short time later when the Jeep got into a collision near South Sixth Avenue and West Irvington Road, but Pacheco did not know what the Jeep had collided with.
Pacheco said the victim was taken to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead.