Person of Interest Questioned in I-10 Freeway Shootings

by Jana Ritter - Published: 9/11/2015

Friday brought breaking news about a person of interest being questioned in relation to the string of freeway shootings that have terrorized Arizona motorists over the past few weeks. Friday morning police suddenly swarmed the parking lot of a Phoenix area convenience store just off the I-10 freeway. After ramming into the back of a parked white Chevrolet Tahoe, police detained the man and woman inside and immediately seized their vehicle. Police confirmed to the media that while they have since released the woman, (who is the man's mother), the man is indeed a person of interest and they plan on questioning him for hours. Authorities have not yet revealed what led them to connect this man to the shootings, but it is believed they followed him along the I-10 and waited until he was in a safe location to detain him.

                                                         

Sara Kaur works as a clerk at the convenience store and she said that at about 9:15 a.m. the man came into buy cigarettes and moments later about 15 to 20 police cars had swarmed the parking lot and had him handcuffed on the ground. Needless to say, she was quite surprised to find out he was a possible shooting suspect, since she recognizes him as a regular customer and has "never had a problem with him." Even more interesting, is that the suspect himself spoke to local news reporters while sitting handcuffed in the back of the police vehicle. Visibly shaken, he gave his account of what happened. “I had just gotten some cigarettes and my drink and when I got back in the truck, they just rammed into the back of my truck and threw me on the ground, and they had my mom with guns all over. They haven’t told us nothing and I keep on asking them and they’re like, ‘We can’t tell you, we can’t tell you,’" he said. He also told reporters that he already has problems with his back and has had three back surgeries in the past and they “just kneed him to the ground.” He also pointed out that he has a “busted lip” from the encounter as well.

                                                     

This possible break in the case comes as good news to motorists, especially after more shootings were reported on Thursday. Drivers had called into the “Shooting Hotline” and reported possible shootings of an armored truck, two cars and two tractor-trailers. However, Raul Garcia of the Department of Public Safety said that only of those reports have been confirmed as a shooting and the victim was a commercial truck driver. Fortunately the driver was unharmed, but his tractor-trailer was shot in the passenger door while he was driving along the I-10 near 67th Ave on Thursday.

                                                                      

As of now, eleven vehicles have been shot since August 29^th and with the latest incident occurring September 10^th. Interestingly, eight incidents occurred with bullets and three with projectiles, which could either be BBs or pellets. Until motorists are assured the right person is caught and the shootings stop, many are avoiding the I-10 and taking alternate routes.

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