TUCSON, Arizona — Officials from the Tucson Police Department held a news conference to share information about their ongoing investigation into the shooting that killed student Erin Jones and left three others injured.
TPD estimates that the party had over 200 people in attendance. They say the party had also been advertised through social media as a football party which coincided with the end of the team’s spring training and spring game.
The home was rented by members of the University of Arizona football team.
TPD says football players were in attendance at the party as well as other UA students, members of the UA community, members of other athletic teams, and members of the general Tucson community.
Twenty-five witnesses stayed on the scene and were interviewed over the course of 15 hours the morning of the shooting.
Investigators mapped out the nearly mile long crime scene and collected over 80 shell casings.
According to police, it took over 15 hours to conduct interviews and process the crime scene.
Over the last few weeks police have conducted over 140 interviews with partygoers, 911 callers, and neighbors.
Based on additional interviews, police are tracking down more persons of interest. Police have been unable to identify the shooters.
The investigation is ongoing and police are offering an award for any information that will lead to the arrest of any suspects.
UP TO SPEED
What is the Valley?:
“The Valley” is what locals call the Phoenix Metropolitan Area. It is considered the largest metropolitan area in the Southwest.
The Valley is made up of various major cities other than Phoenix, including:
- Mesa
- Chandler
- Scottsdale
- Tempe
- Glendale
- Surprise
- Peoria
- Gilbert
- El Mirage
- Avondale
- Litchfield Park
- Goodyear
- Buckeye
Whether a city is in the “East Valley” or “West Valley” depends on where it is in relation to Phoenix.
The cities of the Valley have a combined population of 4,845,832 people, according to the 2020 United States Census. This makes it the 11th largest metropolitan area in the country right behind the Boston and Atlanta areas.
How big is Maricopa County?
Maricopa County is the United States’ 4th largest county in terms of population with 4,485,414 people, according to the 2020 Census.
The county contains around 63% of Arizona’s population and is 9,224 square miles. That makes the county larger than seven U.S. states (Rhode Island, Delaware, Connecticut, Hawaii, New Jersey, Massachusetts and New Hampshire).
One of the largest park systems in the nation is also located in Maricopa County. The county has an estimated 120,000 acres of open space parks that includes hundreds of miles of trails, nature centers and campgrounds.
The county’s seat is located in Phoenix, which is also the state capital and the census-designated 5th most populous city in the United States.
The county was named after the Maricopa, or Piipaash, Native American Tribe.
