Teen boy hospitalized, lockdowns lifted after shooting at Ahwatukee gas station

PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) -- School lockdowns have lifted, and a teen boy is in the hospital after a shooting in Ahwatukee on Monday afternoon. Officers say the shooting was reported at a Circle K near 44th Street and Ray Road just before 4 p.m. Police arrived and found a teen boy shot. He was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

According to officers, a shootout broke out in the parking lot of the Circle K. The suspect then ran away and hasn’t been found. Investigators are still working to find out what led up to this crime. Police say nearby schools were put on lockdown, including Mountain Pointe High School, as officers searched for the suspect. Those with information about the shooting are asked to call 480-WITNESS or Phoenix police non-emergency line at (602) 262-6151.

Dawn Tomaszewski lives right across the street from the Circle K and heard the gunshots. “It went bop bop bop, you could almost hear him turning and then bop, bop, bop, bop, bop. And that’s when I was like oh, no,” she said.

The shooting comes at the heels of multiple school threats made over the last few days at Mountain Pointe. The threats included scrubbed photos of a gun and references to planned shootings. On Monday morning, before the shooting, Tempe Union High School District released a statement saying they’re working with Phoenix police to investigate where the threats came from. One Mountain Pointe mother says she had a conversation about the threats with her son. “Had to keep my son home from school today because he was scared to go into that building. It took me 20 minutes to get it out of him why he didn’t want to school,” she said. “For two weeks, that school has been underneath threats. That’s not fair to the school, that’s not fair to our children. None of the faculty members in there. That’s not fair to none of them in there. And something needs to be done so our kids can go back inside of that school versus going to school online.”

In the meantime, increased security measures are in place around campus, and counseling support is available. If you have information to report about school threats, contact Tempe Union High School District SRO Officer Tiffany Beverly at tbeverly@tempeunion.org.

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