A Phoenix shooting left five dead Friday after a man who had been in a business dispute with his two brothers shot and killed them, his mother, and one of their wives before turning the gun on himself, The Associated Press reported.
The shootings at a home in a quiet residential neighborhood in north Phoenix led to a massive police presence. The man's wife fled the home with two young children and another woman when the gunfire broke out Thursday afternoon, Sgt. Trent Crump said.
Police aren't yet identifying the four victims or the man who opened fire and later shot himself.
The three brothers ran a company that offered cars for hire and a restaurant, Crump said Friday. There had been an ongoing dispute about the business, and one brother opened fire, he said.
"According to witness accounts, yesterday he had made some off-the-wall comments, at the time saying goodbye to people," Crump said. "They didn't know what he was meaning at the time, but now in hindsight they realize that he was just having some sort of a breakdown."
Crump said the two brothers were shot on the home's first floor. The man then shot his mother as she came down the stairs, continued upstairs and killed another woman, and then went into a bedroom and shot himself.
A police SWAT team surrounded the home and entered after about an hour. Several SWAT team officers broke the glass of a back patio door to enter the home. The SWAT team used a robot to search the house before sending in a dog and officers, Crump said.
Police were still on the scene at midmorning Friday, and the medical examiner was preparing to remove the bodies. Crump said one gun was recovered.
The brothers had apparently lived in Phoenix for at least several years, but some of the victims were visiting from out of the country, and police were working with consular officers to notify their families.