A Phoenix police officer was in serious but stable condition Tuesday following a shootout near 10^th Street and Southern Avenue.

A man died after being shot by another officer during a fight after the victim pulled out a handgun and shot the injured officer in the leg, police said.

The suspect was identified Wednesday morning as 48-year-old Sergio Francisco Alvarez.

The incident began about 2:55 a.m. May 28 when two officers patroling the area stopped a man on a bike for a traffic violation, according to a release.

“The officer riding in the passenger seat got out to contact the man. The man immediately became combative. A fight broke out, and the officer driving the patrol Tahoe came around his vehicle to help the first officer detain the suspect,” the release stated.

During the struggle the man pulled out a handgun and fired it, striking one of the officers in the leg, police said, adding the other officer returned fire hitting the man. The man, who was disarmed at that point, ran a short distance on Southern Avenue and was taken into custody by arriving officers.

He died later at a hospital.

It was the ninth officer-involved shooting of 2024, according to the release. There have been eight incidents where officers have been directly fired on. Three of those have resulted in officers being shot in the line of duty.

 “This is indicative of the violence officers face every day protecting our community,” said Interim Phoenix Police Chief Michael Sullivan. 

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