TEMPE — Two separate police shootings involving East Valley law enforcement agencies occurred about three hours apart on July 17, leaving one man dead and another hospitalized with minor injuries.
The first shooting happened just before 8 p.m. in north Tempe, where police said Chandler detectives were trying to arrest a man in an aggravated assault case.
The second followed around 11 p.m. in Mesa after officers found a man dead at an apartment complex and located another man they were investigating in connection with the homicide.
Police said officers fired in both incidents. The man in Tempe died, while no one was hit by gunfire in Mesa.
Chandler police shooting ends in Tempe
Chandler detectives shot and killed a man in Tempe while trying to arrest him in an aggravated assault case, according to Chandler Police Department spokesperson Sonu Wasu.
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The detectives had probable cause to arrest the man in connection with an aggravated assault reported in Chandler about two weeks earlier, according to the statement.
Officers found him in Tempe and tried to take him into custody just before 8 p.m. July 17.
The man then ran into an apartment complex near Scottsdale and McKellips roads. During the foot pursuit, the man displayed a firearm before an officer shot him, according to the statement.
Officers provided medical aid, but firefighters pronounced the man dead at the scene. Police recovered a firearm near him, according to the statement.
The man, later identified as Christoffer Vink, 40, was found to have died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, Mesa Police Department spokesperson Detective Robert Katz said in a July 20 update.
Mesa police are investigating the shooting through the East Valley Critical Incident Response Team, which investigates shootings involving police departments.
Police have not released details about the aggravated assault case.
Mesa shooting follows homicide investigation
Mesa police responded around 11 p.m. July 17 to a report of shots fired at an apartment complex near Dobson and Broadway roads, according to Detective Robert Katz, spokesperson for the Mesa Police Department.
Officers found one adult man dead with obvious signs of trauma, Katz said.
Officers then located a second man in connection with the death, who barricaded himself inside an apartment, Katz said.
During negotiations, the man fired several rounds at officers before officers returned fire, according to Katz.
No one was struck by gunfire.
The man later came outside and did not comply with officers, Katz said. Officers used bean bag rounds and a Taser before taking him into custody.
He was later identified as Abishai Israel, 46, in a July 20 police update. Israel suffered minor injuries, Katz said.
He was booked into jail on suspicion of aggravated assault and misconduct involving weapons, according to Katz.
Israel's relationship with the man who was killed was not yet known. Police have not identified the man or exactly how he died.
The police shooting was being investigated by the Scottsdale Police Department, Katz said.
No officers or bystanders were injured.
There have been at least 50 police shootings in Arizona so far in 2026, with at least 25 of them fatal.Â
