A Arizona Department of Public Safety (DPS) trooper was hospitalized Thursday night after a shooting erupted during a SWAT operation in central Phoenix, officials confirmed.
The confrontation unfolded around 7:30 p.m. near Interstate 17 and Indian School Road, where DPS troopers were executing a high-risk search warrant. One trooper sustained injuries that required hospitalization, while two others were treated at the scene, according to a report from ABC15 Arizona.
Investigators identified the suspect as 51-year-old Darrelle Lazane Bell, who was also injured during the exchange of gunfire. Bell was taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening wounds before being released and booked into jail on Saturday.
Authorities said Bell faces a long list of charges, including 18 counts of attempted first-degree murder, along with weapons misconduct, resisting arrest, discharging a firearm within city limits, and several drug-related offenses tied to the original warrant.
The incident brought a massive law enforcement response, snarling traffic along I-17 as officers secured the area.
The shooting came just one day after two members of a DPS safety helicopter crew died in a crash near Flagstaff while responding to assist in an unrelated active-shooter situation — a tragedy that has left the agency reeling amid back-to-back crises.
