PHOENIX — Phoenix police are investigating the death of a man who barricaded himself inside a convenience store storage room Tuesday morning.
The incident happened at the QuikTrip near I-17 and Cactus Road in north Phoenix and lasted several hours.
Officers saw a man, later identified as 37-year-old Daniel Parra, running across the freeway around 2 a.m. Turning back, officers started to search the area to find where Parra went.
Police said Parra was seen running westbound on Cactus Road to the QuikTrip around 15 minutes later. Officers confronted him at the store, where they saw Parra had a knife.
Parra then ran into a storage room in the store and barricaded himself inside. While officers tried negotiating with Parra, a fire was started inside the storage room.
A special assignments unit with Phoenix police breached the storage room around 5:30 a.m. and found Parra unresponsive inside.
First responders with fire and medical pronounced Parra dead on the scene.
Police said the medical examiner is still working to determine the cause of death.
"We appreciate the Phoenix Police Department’s quick response in ensuring that all of our employees and customers were quickly and safely evacuated from the store. We are working with law enforcement to support their investigation into this incident. As always, the safety of QuikTrip’s employees and customers is our top priority,” said, Aisha Jefferson-Smith, QuikTrip’s Corporate Communications Manager.
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