Peroia cop shot Original Article Peoria cop fights for life after shooting Murder suspect killed by police after short chase Brent Whiting The Arizona Republic Dec. 18, 2005 12:00 AM A Peoria police officer remained in critical but stable condition Saturday night, hours after an early-morning shootout in which a murder suspect was killed, authorities said. Officer Bill Weigt, 31, an 18-month member of the Peoria force, was rushed to a Phoenix hospital for treatment of a wound to the upper chest. At nightfall, more than 100 hundred police officers, relatives and other well-wishers gathered at John C. Lincoln Hospital-North Mountain for a candlelight vigil in support of the wounded officer. Investigators said that a 27-year-old man who fired at Weigt and other Peoria officers was pronounced dead at another Phoenix hospital. Police did not immediately release the man's name. Officers also are looking for a second suspect who figures in an apparent home-invasion attempt that led to the shooting, officers said. Officer Brad Knights, a Peoria colleague, described Weigt, who is married with four children, as a very upbeat person. "He always has positive words for everybody," Knights said. "I don't think there is anybody in this department who doesn't get along with Bill." Earlier in the day, Karen Ashley, a deputy Peoria police chief, spoke outside the hospital and described the shooting as "a tragic day for the Peoria Police Department." "We're here for the officer," Ashley said. "We're here for the family of the officer. And we're here for the rest of the Peoria Police Department family." Peoria Mayor John Keegan, when reached in Hawaii, said he and other city officials are "extremely worried." "Our prayers go out to him and his family," Keegan said. "The city will do all it can to make our city safe and to support this officer and his family." Mike Tellef, a Peoria police spokesman, said the ordeal began about 4:30 a.m. when police were called to a home in the 6900 block of West Cinnabar Avenue to investigate reports about shots being fired at the residence. As police arrived, a gray car was pulling away, Tellef said. A short pursuit ensued after the driver refused to stop, he said. The driver struck a curb, blowing out a tire, and the car came to a stop in the middle of the road in the 8800 block of West Olive Avenue. "And the suspect got out of the car and opened fire on our officers," Tellef said. At least five Peoria officers returned the fire, striking the gunman several times, Tellef said. Weigt, who was wearing a protective vest, was wounded during the exchange. There was no immediate indication how the vest figures in Weigt's wound, Tellef said. Police returned to the Cinnabar neighborhood and found a 21-year-old man dead in a back bedroom, Tellef said. The victim's name was withheld pending further investigation. Police believe the victim was shot dead by the man killed by police, Tellef said. The reason for the shooting remains a mystery, he said. Witnesses related that a second suspect fled on foot from the house, Tellef said. Police scoured the neighborhood, assisted by a helicopter and K-9 units, but didn't find anybody. Peoria police worked two crime scenes: the Cinnabar house and the stretch on Olive Avenue where Weigt was shot. Ashley described the shooting as the worst officer-involved incident since Peoria was incorporated in 1954. No Peoria police officer has a lost a life in the line of duty, according to Officer Down Memorial Page Inc., a Web site that tracks fallen officers throughout the nation. Reach the reporter at brent.whiting@arizonarepublic.com or (602) 444-6937.