(RepublicanNews.org) – Two people were fatally shot at a dance in the Gila River Indian Community early on Saturday, June 1st.
Gila River Indian Community is a native American reservation home to 14,000 people and situated in Arizona, about 35 miles away from Phoenix. The two people killed were local police officer Joshua Briese and a 23-year-old woman named Alicen Akpaw. Four others were injured by gunfire, and two suspects have been arrested.
Officer Briese, who was still under field instruction at the time of the shooting, was called out to the dance at 2 am in response to reports of a domestic disturbance. He attended the scene with another officer, who was also his field instructor. Briese had only been with the police department for under a year. The second officer was one of the four others injured at the scene. He remains in a serious, but stable, condition in the hospital. The three others who were wounded were also taken to hospital for medical care, although their conditions have not been made public.
An Arizonan man and a teenage boy were both arrested at the scene before being taken to the hospital to treat injuries sustained during the shooting. Police have not publicly identified the suspects and have not been able to confirm any motive for the shooting, which was carried out in the presence of a large crowd of revelers. The FBI is involved in the ongoing investigation and has said that a decision will be made as to press charges against the suspects once the investigation is concluded.
Stephen Roe Lewis, governor for the Gila River Indian Community, released a statement in which he said that the whole community would “grieve” for the two killed, calling their deaths “tragic violence.” The shooting took place at a dance being thrown to celebrate a teenager’s birthday. The community has banned dances for the foreseeable future in the wake of the shooting. Anybody caught trying to circumvent this rule faces possible arrest for misconduct and the loss of their homesite.
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