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Body camera video shows moment first Phoenix officer was shot during ambush last week

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Posted at 5:33 AM, Feb 18, 2022
and last updated 2022-02-18 07:33:13-05

PHOENIX — Phoenix police have released body camera video of the tense moments an officer was ambushed early last Friday morning in a shooting. In total, the incident led to nine officers being injured, a female victim being shot and killed, and the suspect reportedly killing himself.

*Warning: Graphic video of the shooting, in the player above, may not be appropriate for all audiences. We have paused the video, and muted the audio of the moment when the officer was shot.*

Phoenix officers responded to a home for reports of a woman shot around 2:15 p.m. Friday, February 11.

When the first officer approached the home near 51st Avenue and Elwood Street, just north of Broadway Road, Morris Richard Jones III can be seen pulling a gun and firing at the officer.

The officer was able to get back to safety as additional crews arrived and surrounded the residence to call out the people inside, spokesperson Sgt. Andy Williams said at a press conference.

A man, who was later identified by police and relatives as the female victim's brother, was then seen coming outside the front door, placing a one-month-old baby outside the home as the situation was unfolding. The man then went to nearby officers who detained him. He is not believed to be facing any charges in the incident.

Williams said as officers moved in to secure the infant, Jones, inside the home, opened fire again, striking four other officers with gunfire. Four additional officers were also hit indirectly with either ricochets or shrapnel.

The infant girl is said to be okay and is in DCS custody, according to officials.

All nine officers that were injured have since been released from the hospital and continue to recover.