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On August 28, 2022, a mass shooting took place outside of a Days Inn motel in Phoenix, Arizona. Twenty-four-year-old Isaiah Steven Williams, heavily armed with a rifle, Molotov cocktails, stun grenades, and other tactical gear, shot at random people and cars, killing two people and wounding five others, including two police officers. Williams committed suicide after a shootout with law enforcement.
 | This article reads like a police briefing or a news article and may be largely based on routine coverage. (October 2024) |
| 2022 Phoenix shooting | |
|---|---|
Williams, as seen exiting the motel moments before opening fire. | |
| Location | Deer Valley, Phoenix, Arizona |
| Date | August 28, 2022 8:28 p.m. – 8:45 p.m. (MDT) |
| Target | Civilians |
Attack type | Mass shooting, Murder-Suicide |
| Weapons | AR-15 style rifle, Molotov cocktail, stun grenades (unused) |
| Deaths | 3 (including the perpetrator) |
| Injured | 5 |
| Perpetrator | Isaiah Williams |
| Motive | Unknown |
At around 8:25 p.m., Williams was observed on closed-circuit television cameras leaving a Days Inn Motel room that he had booked wearing a tactical vest, riot helmet and gas mask.[1][2] He was also carrying a semi-automatic AR-15–style rifle and Molotov cocktail, both of which would later be used in the attack.[3][4] At 8:28 p.m., Williams was observed exiting the lobby of the motel, and immediately began to open fire on vehicles and buildings in his vicinity.[5][6][7]
Seconds after shooting at random, a white car pulls into the motel parking lot and parks. Williams approached the vehicle, which had five occupants, and began systematically shooting through the windows, killing the driver and one other person. The three other occupants ran off, and were uninjured in the shooting.[5][8][9]
After shooting at the car, Williams stepped back and continued to walk around the parking lot, shooting at vehicles and other structures at random. Williams discharged at least 12 rounds from his rifle during this phase of the shooting, which was also caught on video. Williams then walked towards an occupied restaurant and lit the Molotov cocktail before throwing it at one of the restaurant's windows,[10] although the window did not break. After the Molotov cocktail failed to explode, Williams encountered multiple bystanders who were observing the shooting, but he did not let off any shots.[5][11][12]
Williams continued to walk around the parking lot for several minutes, firing several shots, many of which hit observers of the shooting. Police arrived at the scene of the shooting at around the same time, and were immediately hit with gunfire when they stepped out of their patrol vehicle. Both officers in the vehicle were injured, but none of the injuries were fatal.[3][13] One of the officers shot at Williams, although he was not hit.[5][14][15]
A short time later, the gunfire ceased, and police walked up to Williams, who had killed himself with the rifle he used to carry out the shooting with.[16] During a later investigation, it was revealed that Williams also had several stun grenades in his possession, which were unused in the shooting.[5][17] It was also revealed that the assailant discharged his rifle nearly 200 times during the skirmish.[18]
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Victims
Williams killed two people; they were identified as Karla Garzona and Misael Arévalo, both of whom were inside of a vehicle that Williams shot into.[19][20] Five others, including three civilians and two police officers, were wounded by gunfire. One of the officers was shot in the shoulder, while the second was hit by shrapnel "in several places."[12] The officer who was shot in the shoulder was sent to a hospital, while the three civilians were released without needed extensive medical treatment.[19]
Investigation
In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, the Phoenix Police Department investigated Williams' motive. An internal investigation determining the legality of the officers' actions was carried out by the Maricopa County Attorney's Office, although the results of the investigation have not been made public.[5][21]
Perpetrator
The Phoenix Police Department identified the shooter as Isaiah Steven Williams, who was 24 at the time of the shooting.[12] Williams had graduated with a film studies degree from the Arizona State University prior the shooting, but was struggling to find a job.[21][22] Although Williams had once expressed interest in becoming a police officer or soldier, he began posting anti-police and anti-government messages on several social media platforms in 2020, calling both systems "corrupt."[22] In April 2022, Williams' parents, concerned that he might harm himself, confiscated multiple weapons from him, including an AR-15–style rifle and a handgun.[22] Several weeks before the shooting, Williams sold his car; and on the day of the shooting, he had expressed to a friend his desire to fight for the Kurdish forces in Iraq because "he wanted to fight for something." In those text messages, Williams has also recommended a book called The Destruction of Black Civilization.[21][22]
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- Phoenix freeway shootings, a series of shootings in 2015.
- 2022 Bend, Oregon shooting, occurred on the same day.
- 2022 Detroit shootings, occurred on the same day.
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