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2 people killed, including police officer, in southern Arizona shooting

<i>Gila River Police Department via CNN Newsource</i><br/>Two people died and five were injured in a shooting in Arizona's Gila River Indian Community.
Gila River Police Department via CNN Newsource
Two people died and five were injured in a shooting in Arizona's Gila River Indian Community.

By Sara Smart, CNN

(CNN) — Two people are dead, including a police officer, after a shooting in southern Arizona early Saturday morning.

Five people were also injured, including another officer, during the incident.

The shooting took place around 2 a.m. local time when officers were dispatched to a “disturbance at a home,” according to the Gila River Police Department’s Facebook page. The incident happened in the Gila River Indian Community, an Indigenous reservation located 35 miles southeast of Phoenix.

Multiple gunshots were fired amid the disturbance, which police say involved a “large crowd.”

Among those struck by gunfire were two Gila River police officers and four other individuals, police said.

Officer Joshua Briese and another individual, who has not yet been publicly identified, died due to their injuries.

The other officer remains in serious but stable condition at the hospital. The three other individuals injured are also being treated at hospitals, police said.

Officer Briese was still on field training and had only been with the department for less than a year.

“Our hearts and prayers are with these police officers, their families, and everyone impacted by this tragic incident,” the police department said.

The department is working with the FBI to continue investigating the incident.

The Gila River Indian Community has a population of 14,000, including members of the Pima and Maricopa tribes.

The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2024 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.

CNN’s Sarah Dewberry contributed to this report.

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