5 dead in shooting, fire in Phoenix, police say

PHOENIX - Phoenix authorities say a girl who was critically wounded in a shooting and house fire has died, raising the death toll from the violence to five, including the gunman.

Police Sgt. Trent Crump says the girl, whose age wasn’t known, died at a hospital Tuesday.

Crump says those killed were all related, and the gunman was shot by police.

He declined to release names or specify the relationships of the people involved, but he said they were a family of five and that the shooter was the brother or son of the victims. Details about what happened are unclear.

Officers dodged bullets and donned breathing gear to enter the burning home to help the victims while the shooter was still alive. Some firefighters stood on the roof to extinguish flames gushing from the home.

Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton praised the heroism of police officers and firefighters who responded to the scene, saying the incident involved “unspeakable violence.” He praised the coordination of public safety agencies from Phoenix and neighboring cities.