A security guard opened fire on a driver who allegedly tried to run him over near 27th and Glenrosa avenues in central Phoenix on Friday morning, according to police. The driver sped off before officers arrived, and it remains unclear whether the person was struck by gunfire. As of Friday, the vehicle had not been located and the driver has not been identified.
Phoenix Police were called to the area near 27th and Glenrosa avenues after reports of gunshots, according to AZ Family. Officers determined that a security guard had opened fire on a vehicle after its driver allegedly tried to hit the guard with the car. Police have said only that whether the driver was injured is unclear, and officers have so far been unable to find the car involved.
The Phoenix Police Department is continuing to investigate the incident, and anyone with information is asked to come forward. Tipsters can remain anonymous by contacting Silent Witness at 480-WITNESS, a Maricopa County program that guarantees anonymity and offers cash rewards up to $1,000 for information leading to an arrest or indictment in a non-fatal felony case, according to Silent Witness.
What the Law Says About Both Sides of the Encounter
If the driver is eventually identified and arrested, the allegation of trying to run over the guard could fall under Arizona's aggravated assault statute, which treats motor vehicles as dangerous instruments capable of causing death or serious injury, according to AZ Defenders. That classification can elevate the charge to a felony under Arizona Revised Statutes § 13-1204.
On the other side of the equation, the guard's decision to fire at the vehicle would likely be evaluated under Arizona's self-defense law, which permits the use of deadly force without any duty to retreat if a person reasonably believes they face an immediate threat of death or serious bodily harm, per FindLaw. Arizona operates under stand-your-ground principles, meaning the guard would not have been legally required to retreat before using force, provided he was lawfully present and not engaged in illegal activity at the time.
Armed security guards in Arizona must also meet state licensing requirements before carrying a firearm on the job. The Arizona Department of Public Safety Licensing Unit requires guards to complete an eight-hour basic guard course, a 16-hour firearms safety course, a live-fire range qualification, and a fingerprint background check under the state's Title 32 regulations governing private security.
A Corridor With a Troubled Recent History
The stretch around 27th and Glenrosa avenues has seen repeated violence in recent years. Less than two months before Friday's shooting, Phoenix Police responded to the same intersection after an adult male was shot multiple times and taken to the hospital in critical condition, according to FOX 10 Phoenix; officers were unable to identify a suspect in that case.
In November 2025, police launched a homicide investigation near the same intersection after 34-year-old Bryce Tubbs was found shot to death inside a vacant apartment, a case Hoodline covered in a report seeking public tips. And this past July, Hoodline reported on the discovery of two decomposed bodies in an apartment unit in the same area, an investigation that remains ongoing. Further back, in February 2022, Phoenix Police investigated the fatal shooting of 33-year-old Britten Singleton, who was shot during an argument at a nearby apartment complex and fled to 27th and Glenrosa before dying of his injuries.
Violence in the area hasn't been limited to residents. In April 2025, a security guard working at a QuikTrip gas station near 27th Avenue and Thomas Road, less than two miles south of Glenrosa Avenue, was shot and wounded while on duty, according to Key News Network, underscoring how commercial properties along the corridor frequently deploy armed security in response to ongoing safety concerns.
City Efforts to Curb Corridor Crime
The pattern of violence has prompted city-level intervention. Phoenix established the multi-department 27th Avenue Corridor Community Safety and Crime Prevention Plan after law enforcement assessments flagged elevated levels of violent crime and commercial disturbance along the strip, according to PHOENIX Magazine. The plan reflects why private security and heightened police monitoring have become common fixtures along the corridor.
Separately, the Phoenix Police Department launched a Real Time Operations Center at its Cactus Park Precinct in March 2024, deploying surveillance cameras, license-plate readers, and gunshot detectors along the 27th Avenue corridor, according to the City of Phoenix. It remains an open question whether that surveillance network captured any footage of Friday's fleeing vehicle, as police continue searching for the car and the driver involved.
