A gunman shot and wounded a contract worker outside an Amazon delivery station in Arizona, while another contractor gunned down a suspect in a parking lot Wednesday, possibly to prevent an active shooter situation, police said.
The suspect, who was not an Amazon employee or contractor, entered the grounds of a warehouse complex in the Phoenix suburb of Chandler and shot the unarmed contractor several times around 9:30 a.m., Chandler police said.
They added that a second contracted Amazon employee then shot the suspect, who died at the scene in the facility’s parking lot.
There was no immediate information on the cause of the shooting.
“We don’t know what led to this. That’s under investigation,” said Sgt. Jason McClimans, a police spokesman. “We don’t know the mindset of the shooter, but we’re not looking for other suspects.”
McClimans said the injured worker was hospitalized in critical condition but is expected to survive. He said the other contracted Amazon employee who shot and killed the suspect was not injured.
The names of the suspect and the two contracted employees were not immediately released.
An Amazon spokesman, Richard Rocha, told The Associated Press that the company is working with law enforcement as it investigates the shooting.
“We are deeply saddened by this senseless act of violence in our parking lot. We are working closely with law enforcement as they investigate and are focused on supporting our team during this difficult time,” Rocha said by phone.
He said the two contractors were involved in supporting Amazon’s delivery network while the fatal shooting suspect was not employed by Amazon or any of its contractors.
Operations at the complex were suspended after the shooting and all of its employees and partners were sent home with pay, Rocha added. An Amazon spokeswoman did not immediately release further details about the circumstances of the shooting or the contractor workers involved.
The Chandler facility operates as a pickup area for contracted Amazon Flex drivers and others, who pick up packages for delivery to customers, typically the same or next day.
News video footage showed police vehicles in the parking lot of the complex later Wednesday with crime scene tape surrounding the scene.