MESA — A Tucson man was being sought late Thursday in connection with the shooting death of his ex-wife while she worked in a Mesa restaurant, police said.
Wenlie Zhang, who worked at Raytheon Missile Systems in Tucson until resigning last week, is also suspected in a shooting that wounded the woman's parents at their Tempe townhouse, police said.
Zhang had been divorced for 1 1/2 years, but bitterness against his ex-wife, Jianyun Zhao, lingered, authorities say.
Court documents detail his fights with Zhao over custody of their 9-year-old son, child support, parenting time and debt payment. There was a court hearing scheduled for Wednesday — but Zhang never showed.
A day later, that bitterness apparently turned to bloodshed. Police say Zhang shot Zhao dead at the Mesa restaurant where she waited tables, then drove to her Tempe townhome and wounded her parents before fleeing.
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As of late Thursday, the 41-year-old Zhang was still on the loose, and believed to be armed and dangerous. Authorities believe he returned to Tucson.
At one point Thursday afternoon, police issued an alert to law-enforcement agencies in the state that Zhang may have been trying to drive to the Raytheon plant on the South Side.
Chandra Stewart, a spokeswoman for Raytheon, said Zhang worked at the plant until he resigned May 11. Stewart would not say how long he had worked there, why he resigned or what kind of work he did for the company.
Mesa police said anyone who sees Zhang should call 911.
"We're still trying to put together a motive, but he's already shot and killed his ex-wife and tried to kill two more people," Mesa police spokesman Sgt. Chuck Trapani said.
Zhang is described as a 5-foot-10 Asian who weighs about 160 pounds and was last seen wearing a white T-shirt. Zhang owns a green 1996 Ford Thunderbird with Arizona license plate NVY-303.
Police said the violence began about 1:15 p.m. at Golden Gate Chinese Restaurant near Loop 101 and Baseline Road. When police arrived, they found the 36-year-old Zhao and pronounced her dead at the scene. She had worked there for more than five years.
About 15 minutes later, Tempe police responded to reports of a possible shooting at 4709 S. Stanley Place inside the Park Premiere Townhouses community. They found a 69-year-old man and a 65-year-old woman suffering from gunshot wounds.
The victims' conditions were not available, but authorities said Thursday night the two were still alive. Zhao's father, Wangchang Zhao, was taken to Scottsdale Healthcare Osborn hospital; her mother, Lianzhi Qi, went to Banner Desert Medical Center.
Zhang and Jianyun Zhao's son was placed into police care.
Peter Anderson, 21, who works at Anderson Animal Clinic in the same strip mall as the restaurant, said he found a green Ford Thunderbird blocking his vehicle in the parking lot at about 11:30 a.m. Anderson said he investigated and found an Asian man crouched behind a temporary storage shelter behind the strip mall, peering through a crack toward the back door of the restaurant.
After confirming the Thunderbird belonged to the man, Anderson approached him and asked him to move his car. Anderson said the man got in the car and left the property.
"I'm kind of disturbed," Anderson said. "I know the people. They've always been very nice."
According to court records, Zhang and Zhao ended their 11-year marriage in November 2004. They shared custody of their son, but he lived with his mother.
At Wednesday's hearing, Zhang was supposed to argue for moving his son to Tucson. Janet Feeley, an attorney who represented Zhao, replied in court documents that Zhang's reasons for moving the child were not in the boy's best interests and that even though he found Tucson interesting, he preferred to live in the Phoenix area.
In November, Zhang had said he was the better parent and that Zhao neglected their son's medical needs.
