Suspects in Phoenix double-homicide killed in shootout with Kansas authorities
Suspects in a double homicide that took place in Phoenix over the weekend were involved in a shootout with Kansas authorities after having fled Arizona on Sunday, according to Phoenix police.
Phoenix officers had responded to an injured persons call on Sunday afternoon in a residential area near 51st Avenue and Broadway Road. They arrived to find two adults, later identified as 28-year-old Cameron Brown and 27-year-old Asya Ribble, who were fatally shot.
Brown and Ribble had two small children who were found uninjured at the time of the incident inside their home, according to Sgt. Rob Scherer, a Phoenix police spokesperson.
Phoenix homicide detectives said the primary suspect, later identified by Kansas authorities as 39-year-old Leroy D. Malone, was accompanied by an unidentified woman at the time of the homicide.
The pair were tracked out of Arizona, prompting detectives to contact law enforcement agencies nationwide with case information and descriptions of the man and woman, according to police.
Deputies with the Clark County Sheriff's Office in Kansas noticed a blue Toyota Tundra driving through Minneola, Kansas, that matched the description of the vehicle connected to the double homicide in Phoenix, according to a statement issued by the department.
The deputies initiated a traffic stop, but Malone and the woman fled, prompting a vehicle chase north on U.S. Highway 283 into Ford County, the statement said. Deputies from Ford County Sheriff’s Office and Kansas Highway Patrol joined the pursuit.
Stop sticks were deployed by the deputes and troopers in an attempt to force the blue Toyota to slow down. A deputy maneuvered the truck into a nearby ditch shortly after, according to Clark County Sheriff's Office.
The truck then came to a stop east of the intersection of U.S. Highway 50 and 113 Road in Dodge City, Kansas, before an exchange of gunfire between Malone and the deputies, according to police.
Two Ford County Sheriff's Office deputies were shot. One of the deputies was taken to a Wichita hospital with serious gunshot injuries. He is currently in the intensive care unit, according to police.
The second deputy was taken to a local hospital for shrapnel injuries and has reportedly been released.
A deputy from the Clark County Sheriff's Office was shot twice. He was taken to the Wichita hospital in critical condition, according to police.
The KHP trooper was bitten by a police K-9 during the shooting incident. The trooper was taken to a local hospital where he underwent surgery and is reportedly in good condition.
Malone was hit multiple times by gunfire during the shooting and was pronounced dead at the scene by Kansas authorities. The unidentified woman also sustained multiple gunshot injuries and is currently in critical condition at Wesley Medical Center in Wichita, according to police.
The Kansas Bureau of Investigaton said Monday it is opening an independent investigation in response to the shooting. The investigation remains ongoing.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Suspects in Phoenix double-homicide killed in shootout in Kansas
