CHANDLER, Ariz. (AP) - Chandler police have arrested a man suspected of exchanging gunfire with police a day earlier.
David Javier Gonzales, 25, of Mesa was arrested around 10 p.m. Tuesday near 19th Avenue and Osborn Road in Phoenix, said Chandler police Sgt. Joe Favazzo. He was taken to a hospital for a “minor wound” he received in the shootout Monday. No officers were injured.
After the shootout, Gonzales stole a golf cart and drove it to an apartment complex where he stole a woman’s car, police said. The vehicle was later found abandoned several miles away.
The incident began about 8:30 a.m. Monday when Chandler police went to a home to serve a warrant. As officers were headed to the home, they saw a van associated with the house leaving the area.
Officers tried to stop the van, but the driver fled, said police spokesman Detective Seth Tyler.
The van was located near Chandler High School, and two callers told police they saw a man walking in the area with either a rifle or a shotgun, Tyler said.
Five schools in the area, including Chandler High, were put on lockdown.
The incidents and search lasted about 30 hours.
The U.S. Marshals Task Force, Phoenix and Mesa police air units, and Mesa and Chandler police assisted with the search.
Gonzales will be taken to a Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office jail ward when he is released from the hospital, police said.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.