Original Article 3 officers hurt in Sky Harbor shootout; suspect dead Ginger D. Richardson The Arizona Republic Jul. 8, 2005 12:50 PM Three Phoenix police officers were wounded late Thursday after a suspect driving a stolen car opened fire at them while driving near a terminal at Sky Harbor International Airport. The suspect died at the scene, but it was not clear whether he was killed by police fire or by a self-inflicted shot. His name was not released Friday. This is going to take much, much more investigation, including a reconstruction of the crime scene, said Detective Tony Morales, a police department spokesman. Another police spokesman suggested that the suspect wanted to die in a suicide-by-cops scenario. Phoenix police believe more than 10 officers were involved in the shooting, which occurred shortly before midnight. None of the wounded officers injuries are life threatening, but all remained hospitalized midday Friday, police said. They were identified as Officer Chris Parese, Officer Alex Beaver and Officer Jacob Helms. Of the three, Parese suffered the worst wounds, taking gunshots to the neck and shoulder. It marks the second time in a year that Parese has been shot while in the line of duty. The officer also was wounded last August during a gunbattle that killed Phoenix police Officers Jason Wolfe and Eric White. Thursdays incident the second in a week at Sky Harbor began after police attempted to stop the suspect, who was driving a stolen 2004 red Mustang convertible with stolen plates. The driver led police on a high-speed pursuit from Interstate 17 and Thomas Road, where he headed south toward Interstate 10. At I-10 and Buckeye Road, police attempted to stop the vehicle by spiking its tires, but the suspect backed up, possibly hitting a patrol car. The suspect then drove on to the airport grounds, driving both eastbound and westbound on Sky Harbor Boulevard. Sometime during the pursuit, he stopped the car and dropped off a female passenger. The passenger, who has not been identified, has been questioned and released, officials said. "She was picked up by the guy or took a ride with him," said Sgt. Randy Force, another police spokesman. "He dropped her off before he did what he knew he was going to do, which was die in a shootout with police. He dropped her off so she wouldn't get caught in the middle of it." Morales said the suspect fired several shots from a semi-automatic type assault weapon while he was driving the vehicle on Sky Harbor Boulevard. The car was eventually forced to stop after the suspect jumped the curb and blew out the tires, police said. Officers surrounded the car, and the suspect opened fire again, this time with a shotgun, Morales said. Thursdays incident comes one week after another suspect in a stolen vehicle plowed through a perimeter fence at the airport and drove onto a taxiway, speeding past several fully loaded planes in the process. More than 50 flights were delayed. The security breach prompted airport officials to ask a security task force to analyze the fence line and make recommendations on possible security improvements. No flights were delayed because of the most recent police chase, and airport operations continued as usual, officials said. However, the chase did temporarily force the closure of Sky Harbor Boulevard, which in turn has limited access to the East Economy Parking Garage, spokeswoman Julie Rodriguez said. Airport officials are asking that those needing to park at the airport use the West Economy garage until further notice. Includes information from the Associated Press Reach the reporter at ginger.richardson@arizonarepublic.com or at (602) 444-2474.