Police: Detainee isn’t top suspect
Associated Press
PHOENIX
A man questioned in a string of Phoenix freeway shootings is not the prime suspect, and investigators are pressing ahead with leads in a case that has left the city on edge for two weeks, authorities said Saturday.
A 19-year-old man from a Phoenix suburb who was detained Friday at a convenience store near Interstate 10 is a person of interest, but Arizona Department of Public Safety spokesman Bart Graves declined to say what led police to question him. The man has been booked into jail on an unrelated marijuana possession charge.
“This is an open investigation, and we are going to go where it leads us,” Graves said.
Many Phoenix drivers have avoided freeways since the 11 confirmed shootings began Aug. 29, mostly along I-10, a major route through the city. Eight of the cars were hit with bullets and three with projectiles that could have been BBs or pellets. One girl’s ear was cut by glass as a bullet shattered her window.
Graves said the investigation was moving forward and authorities were not concerned about the public growing complacent now that someone has been questioned. Police were still seeking tips, with freeway message boards across the city continuing to flash a tip-line number.
Motorists also have been calling because they believe they’ve been targeted. Two incidents of cars that sustained shattered windows while on or near the I-10 were reported Saturday, according to DPS. But officials said one vehicle’s damage was caused by road debris and the other by a street sweeper.
The shooting scenarios have varied. Some involved bullets fired at random cars, others involved projectiles, and one was apparently road rage, Graves said.