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Mesa police shooting: Suspected truck thief allegedly 'lunged' at officer with knife

By and
Updated  February 17, 2024 4:08pm MST
Crime and Public Safety
FOX 10 Phoenix

MESA, Ariz. - Police swarmed a Mesa neighborhood after two officers opened fire on a suspect near Main Street and Stapley Drive on Friday.

"I heard two gunshots, and then the police were all just here," said one person who was in the area of the shooting.

This all started with a stolen landscaping truck out of Tempe that had a GPS tracker. Mesa Police picked up the signal and went to the house where the truck was parked. Investigators say a man, identified as 25-year-old Pedro Garcia, came out of the home and soon after, two officers opened fire, but they missed.

Police shoot, wound suspected truck thief

Pedro Garcia, 25, was shot and wounded by police near Main Street and Stapley Drive in Mesa after allegedly stealing a landscaping truck in Tempe.

Police officers open fire on suspect in Mesa

There was a big police response in Mesa on Feb. 16, after two police officers opened fire on a suspect near Main and Stapley. FOX 10's Brian Webb reports.

Police say the suspect remained next to the vehicle and refused to follow commands, so he was hit with a bean bag bullet and a Taser. He was transported to an area hospital with minor injuries before being released and booked into jail.

"Additional information showed that Garcia pulled a knife from a sheath in his waistband after an officer contacted him by a stolen vehicle," police said. "Garcia pointed the knife at the officer and lunged toward him, causing two officers to fire their handguns at him. A total of three rounds were shot from the weapons."

Garcia allegedly admitted to stealing the vehicle.

"[Garcia] pointed the knife at officers in hopes they would kill him," police said.

pedro garcia mesa ois

Pedro Garcia

A resident told FOX 10 they're getting used to criminal activity, but it's always scary when it happens.

"I came down here earlier and the police officer that's right there on the corner.. all he said was that there was a car.. a break-in, or an attempted carjacking, or something to do with the car, but they captured one person and others ran. And then that's when we saw the helicopters starting to fly around."

The SWAT team will help clear the home and detain anyone possibly connected to the crime.

No officers were injured.

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