CHANDLER, Ariz. — Chandler police shot an unarmed neighbor who walked into a standoff between officers and an armed individual Sunday night.
The police department has released new information about the violent incident over the weekend that resulted in an armed suspect and unarmed resident both getting shot.
Interim Police Chief Melissa Deanda said officers were called to a home near the intersection of McClintock Drive and Chandler Boulevard, around 6:20 p.m. on Sunday for an armed suspect acting erratically.
Neighbors reportedly heard gunshots before police arrived and told police that the man had been talking about dead bodies on his property.
When officers got to the home, they found 59-year-old Luciano Gutierrez armed with a handgun behind his front door.
At that point, officers on the scene saw a neighbor exit his home and, against police orders, walk onto Gutierrez's property.
During that time, Gutierrez allegedly shot at police and two officers returned fire, striking him. A third officer saw the neighbor "making movements indicative of a person with a weapon. The officer perceived a threat and fired one round, striking the person he thought was the shooter," Deanda said.
The neighbor, identified as a 33-year-old man from Chandler, wasn't armed, police said.
Both Gutierrez and the neighbor are stable in the hospital. Police have been in contact with the neighbor's family, Deanda said.
"We understand that this is traumatic and difficult for everyone involved, and our thoughts are with them at this time," Deanda said.
Judith Ann Hillard, a neighbor, told 12News Gutierrez's behavior was strange in the days leading up to the shooting.
"Ranting and raving about end times and the homeless and that we had maybe 10 or 15 years left and then Armageddon," Hillard said.
Hillard said she heard a single gunshot around 6:15 p.m. on Sunday. She then received a call from neighbors telling her to get inside.
She watched from her front door as cops filled her street.
"They were saying, 'Sir, put your weapon down. Put your hands in the air,'" Hillard said. "He wouldn't and he's like, 'Come after me. I don't care. I'm not afraid.'"
Hillard told 12News she then heard about eight or nine gunshots.
"It sounded like there was going to be blood everywhere, like it was going to be really bad," Hillard said.
Police were unable to share more details about the incident as both criminal and internal investigations are still underway.
Gutierrez is facing multiple counts of aggravated assault on a police officer. Possible criminal charges for the neighbor are still under review.
Stay with 12News as we continue to update this story with more information.
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