Critical Incident Briefing - April 27, 2026 - 4000 E Indian School Road

WARNING: The attached video may contain strong language and graphic images that may be disturbing to some viewers. Viewer discretion is advised.

The Phoenix Police Department has released a Critical Incident Briefing video to provide details as we currently understand them related to an officer-involved shooting from April 27, 2026.

Around 1 a.m. on Monday, April 27, officers responded to the area of 40th Street and Indian School Road for reports of a woman walking in the roadway holding a knife.

When officers arrived, they saw a woman matching the 911 caller’s description walking in roadway holding a knife. The woman moved out of the roadway and continued walking on the sidewalk. When officers gave the woman repeated verbal commands to drop the knife, she ignored and continued walking.

An officer discharged one projectile from their 40mm less-lethal launcher, a tool used by patrol officers to change a subject’s behavior and gain compliance, but it was ineffective.

The woman, who was still armed with the knife, walked toward an occupied structure and that’s when the officer-involved shooting occurred. She fell to the ground but continued to hold the knife. After dropping the knife, she refused to move away from the weapon. Officers approached her once it was safe to do so and began rendering aid until Phoenix Fire Department personnel arrived, where she was taken to a local hospital with a non-life-threatening injury.

The officer involved in this shooting is assigned to the Mountain View Precinct and has four years of service with the department.

This incident is the subject of a criminal investigation conducted by the Major Incident Division of the Arizona Department of Public Safety and will be reviewed by the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office. It is also the subject of an administrative investigation being conducted by the Phoenix Police Department.

Conclusions about whether the actions of the officer are consistent with department policy and the law will not be made until all facts are known and the investigation is complete.