3 people shot and 1 person stabbed at Phoenix airport following apparent family dispute

Three people were shot and one person was stabbed following what authorities believe to be a family dispute at a restaurant in the Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.

The incident unfolded on Christmas Day at a restaurant outside the security checkpoint, Phoenix police spokesperson Mayra Reeson said at a news conference. A man and a female juvenile have been detained, police said in a news release. The man was suffering from what authorities believe to be a stab wound and was hospitalized.

Airport police received a call around 9:45 p.m. Wednesday about a shooting and found three people at a restaurant in Terminal 4 suffering from gunshot wounds, Reeson told reporters.

Officers came in contact with the man who was stabbed and the female juvenile in a parking garage, police said.

Reeson said all five individuals involved in this incident “are known to each other.”

“I do believe that this was a family dispute that escalated,” she said.

One woman was taken to the hospital in critical condition, Reeson said, noting that it was life-threatening. Two men are listed as stable and the man who was stabbed is also in stable condition, according to the police spokesperson.

In a separate unrelated incident on Christmas Day, a man was arrested at the airport after he allegedly arrived with firearms.

“This man received a text message that he believed there was an active shooter at Sky Harbor,” Reeson said. “This was not an active shooter. There never was, and he arrived at the airport with firearms. … He is detained, he is going to be booked for several charges.”

The man also got into an altercation with a police officer, Reeson said.

Operations at the airport were temporarily halted but quickly resumed. Phoenix police did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday about both incidents.