Man arrested after southern Arizona shooting that killed 1 worker, seriously injured another
A man suspected of shooting at least two people in a Whetstone, Arizona, business and fleeing with a rifle was found in the desert and arrested Monday after an extensive search.
According to the Cochise County Sheriff's Office, at around 5 p.m. Bruce Alvin Hansberry, 37, opened fire at the Desert RV dealership near Redwing Lane and Highway 90. There were about ten employees at the business.
Deputies received information indicating several employees were shot inside the main building.
Robert Lizarraga, 47, was pronounced dead on scene and his nephew Jordan Barajas,18, was airlifted to a Tucson hospital and was in critical condition after having surgery. Both were Desert RV employees.
It is unclear if anyone else was injured.
After the shooting, Hansberry fled with a rifle and shots were fired. The owner of the business was also armed. The sheriff's office said they were determining who fired how many shots when Hansberry ran.
Hansberry reportedly got into a black vehicle, drove for a while, got out of the vehicle and continued running away armed.
Multiple local, state and federal agencies assisted in the air and ground search of Hansberry.
During the search the Cochise County Emergency Services notified all residents in a two-mile radius, which eventually became a four-mile radius, to stay inside and lock their doors.
Due to the search, a portion of State Route 90 was closed around 7:40 p.m., and around 9 p.m. the closure was extended. The road restrictions closed access to Huachuca City and Whetstone. People trying to leave or get to Sierra Vista had to detour through Tombstone.
"This action was taken in the interest of public safety to our citizens and our personnel on the scene and although stressful for those who needed to get to the security of their homes, we were able to work together and bring the incident to closure in the most efficient manner possible," the Sheriff's Office said in a news release.
Officials found and arrested Hansberry in a desert area east of Highway 90 and north of Highway 82. In his residence, they found a baby under one year old who had been left alone, according to the Sheriff's Office.
Hansberry was booked into the Cochise County Jail on suspicion of first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder and child abuse.
In a Facebook post, Desert RV said it would be closed until further notice as employees mourned the loss of Lizarraga and prayed for the recovery of Barajas.
"Please keep all of our Desert RV families in your thoughts as we get through this hard time. We are so thankful for the local law enforcement and all those that came out to support us," the post said.
The sheriff's office thanked the agencies who assisted in the search and expressed their condolences to those affected.
"Our prayers are with the families of those affected by this tragedy," the sheriff's office said.
Reach breaking news reporter Angela Cordoba Perez at Angela.CordobaPerez@Gannett.com or on Twitter @AngelaCordobaP.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Man arrested after fatal shooting in Arizona business
