Chaos erupted in a Chandler neighborhood when police responding to a disturbance ended up shooting two men, one of whom turned out to be an unwitting neighbor. The incident, which occurred near the Chandler Fashion Square mall, began on Sunday night when authorities responded to reports of a man, later identified as 59-year-old Luciano Gutierrez, claiming there were "dead bodies" in his house and exhibiting erratic behavior, according to AZ Family.
When the officers from the Chandler Police Department arrived at the scene on Carla Vista Drive, they spoke to Gutierrez through his security screen door. Despite warnings to maintain distance for safety, a neighbor walked into the police perimeter and was subsequently shot by an officer, mistaken for the armed suspect. TV, as reported by AZ Family.
The confrontation took a turn for the worse when officers opened fire after Gutierrez exited his home and allegedly aimed his gun at them. Moments following the engagement with Gutierrez, a third officer shot the neighbor, believing he was the armed suspect. Both the neighbor and Gutierrez were wounded in the shoot-out and remained in stable condition as of Tuesday morning, as detailed by AZ Family.
Following these incidents, Chandler Police have placed the three officers involved in the shootings on administrative leave. Gutierrez is set to face multiple felony counts of aggravated assault on an officer upon his release from the hospital. Meanwhile, authorities are considering whether to press charges against the mistakenly shot neighbor, a 39-year-old Chandler resident. This bout of violence marked the 12th officer-involved shooting in Maricopa County so far this year, reflecting the 18th incident statewide, highlighting a climbing rate of such confrontations within the region.
