A young police officer in Arizona was killed and five others, including another officer and four civilians, were injured after responding to a disturbance call early Saturday morning.
A young police officer in Arizona was killed by a gunman after responding to a "disturbance" call early Saturday morning, officials say.
Gila River Police Department (GRPD) officer Joshua Briese died from his wounds on Saturday, according to a Facebook post published by the department. Briese, who worked for the GRPD for less than a year, was still undergoing field training when he was killed.
According to the GRPD, another officer was wounded in the shooting and transported to a hospital in serious but stable condition. The shooting took place at around 2 a.m. at a house in Santan, District 4 of the Gila River Indian Community.
"As the responding officers worked to address the disturbance, which involved a large crowd, multiple gunshots were fired," police said. "Two GRPD officers were struck by gunfire, as were four individuals at the scene."
Gila River Police Department (GRPD) officer Joshua Briese died after responding to an incident in Gila River Indian Community. (Google Maps / Gila River Police Department)
The GRPD is headquartered in Sacaton, which is the capital of the Gila River Indian Community. Later on Saturday, Gila River Indian Community Gov. Stephen Roe Lewis issued a statement in response to the shooting.
"I know I speak for our entire community when I say that we grieve for our fallen and injured police officers and every community member touched by such tragic violence," Lewis's statement read. "Nothing cuts deeper than a life cut short."
Gila River Police Department is actively investigating the incident. (Gila River Police Department via Facebook)
"We will pray for our officers and their families, and for every community member, every loved one, and every family impacted by what happened this morning," he added. "As we await further facts, our focus will be on finding a path to healing from this tragic incident."
The GRPD is actively investigating the incident. A spokesperson for the FBI field office in Phoenix confirmed to Fox News Digital that it is assisting the GRPD with its investigation.
Joshua Briese was still undergoing field training when he responded to the fatal incident. (Gila River Police Department )
The shooting comes just a day after another police officer was killed in the line of duty in New Mexico. Albuquerque Police Department officer Daniel Webster was shot and killed while responding to a domestic violence call on Friday.
The deaths of Briese and Webster mark the second and third police officers to be killed in the line of duty in Arizona and New Mexico, respectively, this year.
In 2022, a total of 73 police officers were killed in the line of duty in the United States, according to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund. This represents a 59% increase from the previous year.
The increase in the number of police officers killed in the line of duty is a concerning trend. It is important to remember that police officers put their lives on the line every day to protect our communities. We must do everything we can to support our police officers and ensure that they have the resources they need to do their jobs safely and effectively.
