Gunfire erupted over a Flagstaff hotel parking lot just before midnight on Halloween, sending residents scrambling and prompting a flurry of 911 calls that led police straight to a second-floor balcony. There, officers say they found 45-year-old James Joseph Hansen of Belgrade, Montana, still holding the handgun he had just used to fire multiple shots at a group of strangers below.
Flagstaff police received multiple calls reporting the gunfire at around 11:20 p.m. on October 31, according to FOX 10 Phoenix. The shots were fired from the second-floor balcony of the Hotel Aspen Inn, located at 1008 E. Route 66, toward people standing in the hotel's parking lot below.
The first officer to arrive heard a gunshot and spotted Hansen on the balcony with the handgun still in hand, the station reports. Officers gave verbal commands, and Hansen put the weapon down and complied. Additional officers soon arrived, and he was taken into custody without further incident.
No Known Connection Between Hansen and the People He's Accused of Shooting At
Investigators said the people in the parking lot did not know Hansen and had no prior contact with him, per the same report. No injuries were reported from the shooting. The report also states that it remains unknown why Hansen fired the shots toward the group — a detail authorities have not resolved.
Hansen was booked into the Coconino County Jail facing four charges: aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, endangerment, discharging a firearm within city limits, and disorderly conduct involving a weapon. Under Arizona law, a person who discharges a firearm within or into the limits of a municipality with criminal negligence can be charged with a class 6 felony, according to the Arizona Legislature's statutory text on unlawful discharge of firearms. Separately, the state's aggravated assault statute, outlined by the Arizona Legislature, governs the classification of assault offenses involving a deadly weapon.
Police Still Seeking Witnesses
Flagstaff police are asking anyone with information about the incident, or who may have witnessed it, to contact them at 928-774-1414. Tips can also be submitted anonymously through Silent Witness at 928-774-6111.
