Phoenix Police Department helicopters were involved in three separate incidents this month in which suspects either pointed weapons towards or shot rounds at the aircraft. The incidents included shootings on March 16 and 22, as well as an incident late on Saturday when a suspect aimed a weapon at an aircraft.
According to ABC15 Arizona, three people were detained after multiple rounds were fired at a police helicopter on March 16. In the Saturday case, court documents cited by the station said a suspect pointed a handgun at a police helicopter after it responded to a call about a person with a gun. Ground officers later arrested Jordan Garcia Morales, who was booked on multiple charges. Hours later, FOX 10 Phoenix reported that a man on an apartment patio fired several rounds at a police helicopter, then fired again after officers began evacuating nearby apartments and deploying drones.
Police later shot the Sunday suspect, who was taken to a hospital with life-threatening injuries. No officers were reported injured in that incident. The station also said the helicopter landed nearby to be checked for damage, though authorities did not confirm whether the aircraft had been hit. Investigations into all three cases remain ongoing.
These incidents come just a month after two Arizona Department of Public Safety crew members were killed in a helicopter crash near Flagstaff while providing aerial support during another shooting incident. Although there had been speculation that the aircraft could have been hit, the NTSB said in its perliminary report published earlier this month that there was no indication of ballistic damage.
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