Four injured in Christmas stabbing, shooting near airport

Authorities reported that four people were injured after responding to a shooting call inside Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport on Wednesday night. Officers located on airport grounds three people with gunshot wounds, and one person with a stab wound, Phoenix Police spokeswoman Sgt. Mayra Reeson said at a late-night press briefing. Doctors listed one victim in critical condition, while the other three were stable, Reeson said. Authorities also detained a juvenile female linked to the fight, she added.

What caused the shooting? Reeson described it as a family dispute that snowballed out of control. She said that the five people involved in the incident knew each other, with initial investigation showing the violence was not random. A physical fight began outside a restaurant in Terminal 4 and escalated when someone pulled out a handgun, she said.

How did the gun pass TSA? The group had not passed through screening by the Transportation Security Administration when the fight began, but the group was still in an area of the airport that prohibited weapons, Reeson said. She added that authorities had collected weapons, but did not detail what kinds or how many. Airport operations were barely impacted by the violence and the airport resumed regular operations by early Thursday morning.