Christmas night turned into a nightmare at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix, Arizona, when four people were injured during a heated family dispute when someone pulled out a gun during a fight and opened fire, according to police.
The incident occurred around 9:45 pm at a restaurant in terminal 4, just outside the security checkpoint.
Sergeant Mayra Reeson of the Phoenix Police Department, said, “I believe this was a family dispute that escalated.”
She further added that the violence left a woman critically injured, while two men who were shot and another who was stabbed are in stable condition, as per the New York Post.
She said that it remains unclear if the group had planned to travel or was at the airport for another reason.
“This is scary,” CNN quoted Reeson, “It was Christmas evening. Everybody is trying to get home.”
Police detained a man with stab wounds and an uninjured juvenile girl in the airport’s parking garage. Reeson emphasised that all five individuals involved appeared to know one another.
Weapons have been recovered, but police have not yet identified those involved or filed charges. Investigators are still piecing together what led to the incident, with no suspects currently at large.
“We do not believe that there’s any suspects out there,” Reeson said.
The gunfire forced a temporary closure of Terminal 4’s security checkpoint and its restaurants, although airport operations resumed quickly. Flights were not affected, airport officials confirmed.
A man reportedly had also arrived at the airport carrying a gun after hearing false rumours of an active shooter and was detained following an altercation with police.
Reeson stated that operations resumed fairly quickly, although all restaurants in the food court remained closed during the incident.
The investigation remains ongoing as detectives work to uncover the full details of the incident.
