9 officers hurt in ‘ambush,’ shootout at Phoenix home

Five Phoenix police officers were shot and wounded at a home Friday, including four shot while trying to take a baby to safety after the first officer to arrive at the scene was shot and wounded, Police Chief Jeri Williams said.

A woman at the home where police had gone in response to reported gunfire also was critically injured, Williams told reporters.

The status of the shooter and circumstances of the incident weren’t immediately clear, but Williams said the scene remained active.

Williams said four of the five wounded officers were “recovering” while the fifth was “seriously hurt but is on the road to recovery.”

The baby had been inside the home “and at some point was placed in a carrier and placed outside,” Williams said.

Sgt. Ann Justus, a police department spokesperson, said the baby was OK.

Williams said the first officer to arrive at the scene was shot and wounded “multiple times” by a suspect.

“This is just one more example of the dangers that officers face every day keeping us and our community safe,” Williams said. “If I seem upset, I am. This is senseless. It does not need to happen and it continues to happen over and over again.” (Text, excluding headline, courtesy AP)