Police say jailed man in Arizona road shootings isn’t prime suspect
A sign above Interstate 10 in Phoenix calls on the public to help authorities catch whoever was responsible for a series of freeway shootings that have rattled residents in recent weeks.
Reporting from 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 jailed on an unrelated marijuana possession charge.
Phoenix drivers have been unnerved since the 11 confirmed shootings began Aug. 29, mostly along I-10, a major route through the city. Many have avoided freeways since then. 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 a 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.
The shooting scenarios have varied. Some involved bullets fired at random cars, others involved projectiles — possibly BBs or pellets — and one was apparently road rage, Graves said.
Graves had said Friday that investigators were questioning the man “about a number of things” in addition to the freeway shootings, but he declined to disclose what that entailed. People who answered phones registered to the man’s address said they weren’t related to him.
Authorities have appealed for help through social media, news conferences, TV interviews and freeway message boards. Many of the thousands of tips proved to be false leads.
Longtime residents still remember a string of random shootings that terrorized Phoenix a decade ago. Nearly 30 people were shot then, and eight killed, including a cyclist who was riding down the street and a man who was sleeping at a bus stop. Two men were eventually caught and convicted.
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