TEMPE, Ariz. — One person was arrested after gunfire broke out at a party hosted at an Airbnb rental property in a Tempe neighborhood, police said. No injuries have been reported in connection with the event.
Around 3:36 a.m., Tempe police officers responded to multiple reports of gunshots at a house in the 700 block of West Howe Street near University and Hardy drives. When officers arrived they saw people running from the area and learned that the home was an Airbnb where a party was being held.
Investigations revealed that a group of unknown people started firing weapons outside the party. At this time it's unknown why they started shooting, authorities said.
One man, who spoke with 12News only if we kept his identity hidden, said he was at the house the night of the party. He said it was a big party, that people were inside and outside. He said he's still trying to make sense of what happened.
"I'm not sure how it started," he said. "But as soon as we heard gunshots everybody just dropped to the floor. We just stayed there until the cops got there and let them handle it. I've never been in a situation like this, I'm just glad my girlfriend and I are okay. It was scary."
Video from a neighbor's security camera showed several people running through a property across the street before taking multiple shots toward something out of frame.
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It's not clear if multiple guns were involved, but several rounds of gunfire can be heard from off-screen.
Police said that one person was arrested for having prior warrants, and another was arrested on unrelated charges.
The shooting suspects are believed to still be outstanding, but authorities say that there is not believed to be any threat to the public.
Airbnb said in an email statement below to 12News on Saturday afternoon:
We strongly condemn this senseless gun violence, and we stand ready to support the Tempe Police Department in their investigation. Airbnb bans parties as well as "party houses," and we have taken initial measures to remove this booking guest from our platform, as well as to deactivate this listing pending investigation.
Additional information:
- We recently codified our party ban: https://news.airbnb.com/official-codification-of-party-ban/
- Specifically in Arizona, since the introduction of our party ban in 2020 we've seen a 55% year-over-year decrease in reports of unauthorized parties.
Stay with 12News as we continue to update this story with more information.
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