MESA, AZ – Two men were arrested this week after they shot at Mesa Police Department officers.
According to the Mesa Police Department, on July 21, 2021, Mesa police officers were in the area of 80th St/ Baseline for Operation Summer Project 2021. The officers were looking for 26-year-old Dane Smith. Dane was wanted for Theft of Means of Transportation as well as two outstanding warrants.
After officers found Dane, they initiated a traffic stop. The vehicle Dane was in did not stop and officers watched as Dane fired rounds from a handgun at officers through the back window of the vehicle. Multiple bullets hit the officer’s vehicle in addition to three occupied houses. Eventually, the vehicle stopped. Dane and the driver, 53-year-old Thomas Elliot, took off running.
Both men were located and taken into custody. Neither suspect was injured, and officers never fired their weapons.