‘Family dispute’ leads to 3 people shot, 1 stabbed at Phoenix airport

A Christmas Day dispute escalated, leaving multiple people with gunshot and stab wounds inside Phoenix’s Sky Harbor Airport. Four people were rushed to the hospital in serious and stable condition.

Meanwhile, police took a man and young girl into custody near the airport’s parking garage.

Authorities said what started as a family dispute turned into a physical fight, and one person ultimately pulled out a gun.

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Phoenix police took over the airport Wednesday, Dec. 25, just after 9 p.m. when the initial call came in. Police then shut down a security checkpoint where the gunfire erupted and issued a shelter-in-place order until roughly 10:30 p.m.

During a news conference, a Phoenix police spokesperson said the altercation occurred at a restaurant outside Terminal 4’s security checkpoint near Southwest and American Airlines.

A police sergeant told reporters that no one involved in the fight went through TSA before the incident.

Sgt. Mayra Reeson with the Phoenix Police Department said, “Of course, this was scary. It was Christmas evening, everybody’s trying to get home.”

Several hours later, police arrested a 21-year-old man armed with a gun, who authorities said showed up at the airport because he believed there was an active shooter. He later got into an altercation with Phoenix police, and officers took him into custody.