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NewsMarch 19, 2015

MESA, Ariz. -- A gunman killed one person and wounded five others Wednesday in a rampage that included a motel shooting, a carjacking and a home invasion and ended with his arrest at a nearby apartment in suburban Phoenix. The suspect was taken into custody after officers spotted him on an apartment balcony and used a stun gun. Officers later led a handcuffed man to a truck parked outside an apartment complex. Police did not release his identity...

By TERRY TANG and PAUL DAVENPORT ~ Associated Press
Tanya Ehrig, 27, cries for victims of a shooting as she holds her child Trinity in Mesa, Arizona, on Wednesday. (Nick Oza ~ The Arizona Republic)
Tanya Ehrig, 27, cries for victims of a shooting as she holds her child Trinity in Mesa, Arizona, on Wednesday. (Nick Oza ~ The Arizona Republic)

MESA, Ariz. -- A gunman killed one person and wounded five others Wednesday in a rampage that included a motel shooting, a carjacking and a home invasion and ended with his arrest at a nearby apartment in suburban Phoenix.

The suspect was taken into custody after officers spotted him on an apartment balcony and used a stun gun. Officers later led a handcuffed man to a truck parked outside an apartment complex. Police did not release his identity.

The incident started with an argument inside a room at a motel and spilled outside, leaving three people wounded, Mesa detective Esteban Flores said. The suspect then shot a person at a nearby restaurant and carjacked a gray Honda Accord. Two more people were wounded at separate apartment complexes, including one during a home invasion.

The shootings prompted a hunt for the suspect as Mesa police searched the trunks of cars, interviewed witnesses and brought in SWAT and canine units from other agencies. Flores warned people in the neighborhood to remain indoors.

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Several locations in the area were placed on lockdown. The Arizona Department of Public Safety sent its SWAT team to Mesa to assist with the effort, DPS spokesman Bart Graves said. Scottsdale police also sent SWAT and canine units.

The shootings occurred near the East Valley Institute of Technology. Nearby Mesa Community College issued an emergency alert, saying its campus was on lockdown, and anyone there should proceed to the safest location. The shooting scene is near a light rail line.

Vinny Carbone owns an auto body shop near the shootings. He was getting ready to open when he heard a man yell, "Help, help." He saw a woman outside the motel with what looked like a bullet hole in her side.

"Right now, our hearts and prayers are with the people of Mesa, the individuals affected by this tragedy, and all law enforcement and first responders working to assist the victims," Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey said.

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