PHOENIX, Arizona — Phoenix police released body-camera footage and a critical incident briefing on Friday, October 23, for a fatal officer-involved shooting on October 10 at an apartment complex at 40 East Sunland Avenue in south Phoenix, according to the department's briefing reported by The Phoenix Focal. Sgt. Chris Berrelleza said in the briefing that investigators determined the man's gun was a BB gun and that he had made the 911 call that brought officers there himself.
Source: The Phoenix Focal, reporting the Phoenix Police critical incident briefing, Oct. 24, 2026
Relatives have identified the man who was killed as Andre Ramirez, 24, Arizona's Family (KPHO) reported. Police had not released his name in the briefing. His family planned a vigil for 5 p.m. Saturday at Aguila Park in Laveen and called for greater support and more de-escalation resources for people experiencing mental health crises, Arizona's Family and The Phoenix Focal reported.
Officers were dispatched around 12:30 p.m. on October 10 to the complex on Sunland Avenue, east of Central Avenue and south of Roeser Road, near Central and Southern avenues, after a caller reported a man walking around with a handgun and a knife, mumbling and unsettling residents, but said the man had not specifically threatened anyone, The Phoenix Focal reported. Police said they learned after entering the man's apartment that he had placed the call.
The released footage shows officers positioned behind marked police vehicles, shouting for the man to raise his hands and drop the gun as he left an apartment, and an officer deploying a PepperBall launcher, a less-lethal weapon, according to the police account. Police say the man raised the gun and pointed it toward officers, prompting officers to fire. Officers gave him aid before Phoenix Fire Department personnel took him to a hospital, where he later died. No officers were injured.
Source: The Phoenix Focal, reporting the Phoenix Police critical incident briefing, Oct. 24, 2026
Investigators also found a written statement in the man's apartment, Berrelleza said in the briefing. The police account of the shooting is the department's account at this stage; the shooting remains under investigation.
Source: The Phoenix Focal, reporting the Phoenix Police critical incident briefing, Oct. 24, 2026
The Arizona Department of Public Safety is investigating the shooting, and the Maricopa County Attorney's Office will review the findings, police said. Phoenix police are conducting a separate administrative review. The two officers who fired, both assigned to the South Mountain Precinct, have about two and five years of service, respectively.
Source: The Phoenix Focal, reporting the Phoenix Police critical incident briefing, Oct. 24, 2026