A deadly shooting near 99th Avenue and Camelback Road turned a quiet Phoenix afternoon into a crime scene on Friday, leaving a man and a woman dead as detectives investigate what they say appears to be a murder-suicide.
Phoenix police officers were called to the area around 3:50 p.m. and found an adult man and an adult woman unresponsive at the scene. Sgt. Lorraine Fernandez told FOX 10 Phoenix that both victims were suffering from at least one gunshot wound. Phoenix Fire personnel pronounced them dead at the scene. Their names and any possible motive have not been released, according to FOX 10.
Detectives Probe Case Amid Wider Valley Concerns
The investigation unfolds against a backdrop of growing concern over deadly domestic incidents across the Valley. Local reporting has highlighted several recent domestic-violence deaths and apparent murder-suicides this year, a pattern advocates say is sounding alarms.
In January, AZ Family reported that domestic-violence deaths were rising in Phoenix even as national numbers were moving in the opposite direction.
How Often Do Murder-Suicides Happen?
National data suggests murder-suicides are both persistent and often rooted in intimate-partner violence, with firearms frequently involved. The Violence Policy Center reports that nearly 1,200 Americans are killed in murder-suicides each year and that about nine out of ten of those incidents involve a gun.
Anyone with information about Friday's shooting is asked to contact Silent Witness at 480-WITNESS (480-948-6377) or submit a tip online. The contact page for Silent Witness lists English and Spanish tip lines and an online form for anonymous tips. In an emergency, call 911.
Phoenix police have not released further details. This story will be updated as detectives share more information.
