ST. GEORGE — A verbal altercation between brothers escalated into gunfire near Littlefield, Arizona, last week, leaving one man dead and a second injured during an incident that is still under investigation by the Mohave County Sheriff’s Office.
Emergency dispatch in Mohave County, Arizona, received a call on June 1 from a woman who reported that one of her neighbors had just arrived at her home asking for help. She said the man was injured after suffering a number of gunshot wounds that were visible, according to a statement released by the Mohave County Sheriff’s Office on Wednesday.
The man also told the 911 caller he had been shot by his brother during a verbal altercation and that he had returned fire and shot his brother. He then ran to the caller’s house for help.
Anita Mortensen, the spokesperson for the department, told St. George News the incident involved two brothers in their late 50s to early 60s who lived together at a residence on Willow Avenue in Scenic, Arizona.
She also said the man who ran to the neighbor’s house for help was transported to an area hospital to be treated for non-life-threatening injuries, while the man’s brother was shot and killed when the complainant returned fire.
The man’s body was turned over to the Mohave County Medical Examiner’s Office for an autopsy to determine the cause of death, according to the statement.
While the incident is still under investigation by the Mohave County Sheriff’s Office, Mortensen said detectives have reason to believe that the decedent was the aggressor during the altercation between the brothers.
The identities of both men are being withheld until the family has been notified of the death.
The investigation is ongoing and no further details are being released at this time.
This report is based on statements from court records, police or other responders and may not contain the full scope of findings. Persons arrested or charged are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law or as otherwise decided by a trier-of-fact.
Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2023, all rights reserved.