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An Arizona Department of Public Safety officer shot and killed Alexander Wilson at a gas station, who had decided to ram the officer’s vehicle in order to escape, police say.
Sunday night around 9:30, the officer ran a license plate on a Chevy Tahoe near 27th Avenue and Camelback Road. The car’s plates came back as stolen, and the the officer pursued the Tahoe, which the 15-year-old Wilson steered into the parking lot of a gas station.
The officer blocked the exit of the gas station and pulled out his AR15 rifle. Wilson revved the engine and told his passenger he planned to “slam it,” according to a police report.
Wilson speed toward the officer, who fired once into the SUV through the passenger window. The car made a long arch out into the street, into an adjacent parking lot, and finally crashed into a block wall in an alley and into the back of a home.
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The 18-year-old passenger jumped from the car before it crashed and ran off. He turned himself in to the Phoenix PD early Monday morning. Wilson, who was also wanted on an outstanding warrant for armed robbery, was pronounced dead at the scene.
Phoenix PD is handling the investigation. The officer involved in the shooting is being placed on paid administrative leave, which is standard for any officer who fires his weapon.
