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US: 1 dead in Phoenix office complex shooting

Last updated on: January 31, 2013 09:00 IST

One person was killed and two wounded in an office building shootout in Phoenix, Arizona, on Wednesday.

Sergeant Tommy Thompson, public information officer with the Phoenix Police Department, said officers believe one suspect is responsible and that the suspect is still on the loose.

"A man described as a white male, possibly older, went into an office, got into some type of an altercation, and he shot three individuals," Thompson said. "He fled the scene, we believe, before we got there."

Thompson said he did not believe the shootings were random. "We believe that this individual was probably known to the victims," he said.

 "We believe that this individual came to this location, for whatever purpose, got into an argument, which turned into gunfire."

Police are gathering details on the suspect. A SWAT team is surrounding his home in the northeast Valley near 29th Street and Acoma and are interviewing his adult son.

Police believe he rented a 2003 white Kia Optima, with Arizona license plate AVS-2052, before going to the building near 16th and Glendale Avenue for a meeting. They said they believe he had issues with his mortgage.

The shooting took place on the same day that hearings on legislation to address gun violence were convened in Washington, with former Arizona representative Gabrielle Giffords testifying for stricter gun controls.

A gunman shot Giffords in the head during a shooting rampage in Tucson in January 2011.