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Bodycam footage shows moments woman, baby escape after Glendale man fires rifle near home

Glendale police arrested Eric Bermudez after he fired nearly a dozen shots from his front yard overnight.

GLENDALE, Ariz. — The Glendale Police Department has released new bodycam video following the arrest of a man who fired his rifle almost a dozen times early Sunday morning. 

Police said they arrested Eric Bermudez overnight after he fired his rifle from the front yard of his home near 71st Avenue and Bethany Home Road. 

Officer Moroni Mendez with the Glendale Police Department said when officer's arrived they could see a woman standing behind one of the home's windows holding a baby. She reportedly told officer's she could not get out because the armed suspect was in the living room.

"It puts extra pressure on our police officers," Mendez said.

According to police, Bermudez is a prohibited possessor following a conviction from 2012 and shouldn’t have had a gun. Bermudez had four guns; one was stolen, police said.

ShotSpotter, an audio surveillance technology designed to detect gunshots, initiated a call for service around 3 a.m. on Sunday after recording six gunshots. As police responded to the call, ShotSpotter issued another dispatch, indicating that five more shots were fired from the same area. 

"It's a really important technology that we use," Mendez said.

Police said that once they arrived at the home, they also spotted Bermudez yelling at his girlfriend in the living room and armed with an AR-style rifle with a sling around his neck. 

Police said officers gave verbal commands to Bermudez to drop his rifle, but he did not comply.

Court documents said police retreated but they were able to locate and extract the grandma and the child from the window of a bedroom in the home. Police remained on scene, and around 5 a.m., the suspect exited the house and surrendered.   

Bermudez is facing charges with four counts of possession of a firearm by a prohibited possessor, possession of a stolen firearm, discharge of a firearm within city limits, and disorderly conduct.

Mendez said no one was injured in this situation.

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