INDEPENDENT NEWSMEDIA
A 38-year-old man is dead after police say he used a handgun Friday to shoot at a Peoria police officer who returned fire.
The officer was responding to a call shortly after 1 p.m. April 26 near North 69th Avenue and West North Lane. The caller said a neighbor was in a truck outside his home, displayed a gun and fired a round into the street, according to a release.
The suspect began yelling before heading down the street to his home where the officer encountered the armed man in his driveway.
“The officer attempted to communicate with the suspect ordering him to drop the handgun,” the release stated.
“Preliminary information shows the suspect pointed the handgun and fired rounds toward the officer. The officer fired at least one round at him.”
The suspect, Christian Avalos Gonzales, was taken to a hospital with life-threatening injuries and later died.
No one else was injured.
The Glendale Police Department has taken over the investigation as part of the West Valley Incident Response Team.
The officer involved was wearing an activated body worn camera. Detectives recovered a handgun at the scene, police said.
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