Mesa police kill ax-wielding suspect after 911 callers report domestic assault, damaged vehicles

MESA, Ariz. - Neighbors in one Mesa community are dealing with damaged vehicles following an officer-involved shooting late Monday night.

What we know:

The incident happened on Aug. 3 near East Elliot and South Signal Butte roads, where police shot a man they say was armed with an ax. Mesa Police have identified the deceased suspect as 59-year-old Perry Forster.

Caught on home surveillance video, a man is seen walking down the street holding something in his hand. Just seconds later, the sound of glass shattering can be heard.

Damage Reported:

"We walked outside, and my neighbors said, ‘Man, the guy who came by, he was smashing windshields,’ so of course, I went and looked at my windshield, and then I saw the one here in front, and it’s got a big hole in it," said neighbor Robert Suggs.

Nearly every home on the street has a vehicle smashed, with damaged cars lining the block near Raleigh Avenue and Emery Circle.

Suggs noted that there were damaged cars—"a lot of them, all the way down the street here."

Another neighbor recalled learning about the destruction from nearby residents. "Another neighbor came by and said, 'Hey, heads up, your car was hit too,' a neighbor said. "As neighbors came out, we recognized that cars had been hit all the way from the top of our street just ping ponged all the way back."

The Commotion:

911 callers reported the suspect was assaulting his ex-wife and children. Witnesses say he was chasing them outside the home before turning his anger on neighbors' property.

"There was something going on outside. It was recycling day, so it kind of sounded like a bunch of garbage cans were being brought in, dragged across gravel, it had that sound," one neighbor described.

Officer-Involved Shooting:

When officers arrived, they found the suspect armed with an ax and refusing commands. A witness says the man lunged at an officer with the ax, and that is when that officer opened fire. The shots rang out through the neighborhood.

"I was in my pool and I heard 5, 6 shots go off, and I said, that sounds like bullets," Suggs said.

The suspect died at the scene. A massive law enforcement presence surrounded the neighborhood for hours.

"They put tape across this street, across this area here, down there. They had two police cars down here, another one here, and they had several over there where the victim was," Suggs said.

What's next:

As the investigation continues, neighbors are cleaning up pieces of their damaged vehicles. "Ready right now to take pictures and contact insurance companies and start that process," one neighbor said.

No officers or other neighbors were injured in the incident. The Gilbert Police Department is now the primary investigating agency.

Map of where the officer-involved shooting occurred.