3 troopers injured, 1 man dead after I-17 shooting in Phoenix

Three Arizona Department of Public Safety troopers were injured and a man was dead after a shooting that also involved Mesa police on Interstate 17 near the Central Avenue overpass Monday, officials said.

The incident occurred around 5 p.m. on the northbound side of I-17 just west of the Seventh Street exit, Phoenix police said.

Both directions of the interstate were closed between Seventh Street and Seventh Avenue after troopers stopped a person in a white truck by ramming the truck’s back end, local television helicopter pictures showed.

Initial reports said the person was armed. Helicopter footage showed what appeared to be a standoff on the freeway moments after the truck was rear-ended.

Phoenix police confirmed the man was pronounced dead.

The incident apparently began in Mesa. The Mesa Police Association described the incident on its Facebook page as a shooting with “an extremely violent suspect who ... opened fire in the middle of the freeway.”

Phoenix police said the Department of Public Safety troopers’ injuries were not life-threatening. Two troopers were taken to hospitals for treatment, a Phoenix police statement said, but how the troopers were hurt wasn’t specified.

Major traffic backups occurred on the freeway after the shutdown. Police began turning traffic around on the freeway at about 6:30 p.m. to clear backed up traffic.