phoenix cops kill man Original Article Good Samaritan killed while breaking up assault Katie Nelson and Corinne Purtill The Arizona Republic Aug. 14, 2005 12:00 AM A good Samaritan who tried to break up a domestic assault was killed Saturday, and his suspected assailant was shot dead by police as he drove a car toward them. Police went to the east Mesa neighborhood near the intersection of Greenfield and Brown roads after receiving a series of 911 calls. The callers had indicated a man was pummeling his mother in the head with a large rock, police said. Calls came in from neighbors who heard the mother's cries for help and others who heard gunshots, according to Detective Tim Gaffney, Mesa police spokesman. Officers arrived at the townhome development about midday to find a 61-year-old man bleeding in a driveway; he lived next door to where the domestic fight originated. The man apparently had tried to intervene, Gaffney said. SWAT team officers surrounded the area and evacuated neighbors. They also pulled the bleeding neighbor out of harm's way. Despite treatment by the Mesa Fire Department, the unidentified man died at the scene. Negotiators made contact with the 32-year-old suspect who reportedly had been beating his mother with a rock. He had barricaded himself in his 61-year-old neighbor's house. Police spoke with him via a phone in the townhouse, next door to where he apparently lived with his mother. He held police at bay, saying he had a female hostage, but then came out of the house through the garage. He was carrying a handgun, witnesses said. Police said that about 2 p.m. the man, who has not been identified, got into a newer model Nissan parked inside the garage. He started to pull out, aiming the vehicle toward officers who were surrounding the house, they said. At that point, gunfire rang out in the neighborhood for the second time that day. An undetermined number of Mesa police officers fired at the approaching car. The man may have been firing his weapon at the officers as well, according to Gaffney. The suspect, who police believe shot the neighbor, died at the scene. His body remained slumped over the car's steering wheel as police interviewed witnesses and completed their investigation. They discovered the suspect had an extensive criminal history, including weapons violations and a U.S. District Court warrant for possession of dangerous drugs that noted he should be considered armed and dangerous. There was no evidence he had actually taken a hostage as he had claimed. The suspect's mother was taken to a hospital, where she was treated for head lacerations. Neighbors milled around in the heat, piecing together what had just happened. About 300 homes were called via the Community Emergency Notification System in the midst of the action. A recording told them to stay in their homes because of the gunfire and hostage situation. Ronda Zeiner locked her doors immediately upon receiving the call about 1:30 p.m. "They said, 'Get inside, lock your door,' and I said, 'OK, I'm in,' " said Zeiner, 50. "This is kind of scary, though. This doesn't happen in our neighborhood." Robert Warehime, 20, and two other friends were at a house a few blocks from the scene when they heard the Mesa police helicopter circling overhead. "We drove up here, parked there, and then it was like, pop, pop," Warehime said, pointing to the spot north of 48th and Encanto streets where they heard the shots. As the police investigation dragged on, residents stepped out of their homes and questioned how long they should remain behind closed doors. One woman who called the police on her cellphone after the standoff ended was told to go back inside her house and wait for notification. "I appreciated the call, as long as they call back when it's all done," said Bennett Sloan, who canceled his plans after the warning call.