By admin 
TUCSON, Ariz. (13 News) – Authorities have released more details about a swatting incident that led to a deputy-involved shooting in Pima County in April.
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On Tuesday, June 23, the Pima Regional Critical Incident Team released its video report about the incident that ended with Axeel Melendez being shot by deputies. You can watch that report in the video player below.
GRAPHIC CONTENT WARNING
The 23-year-old Melendez was taken to the hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening. The Pima Cunty Sheriff’s Department said three of its deputies suffered minor injuries, but their injuries were not related to the shooting.
The incident began on April 10, when someone called 311.
The caller said they were Axeel Melendez and claimed that his father had just shot his younger sister. While the incident is still under investigation, PRCIT said that Melendez was not the caller and it was likely a swatting incident.
But deputies did not know that at the time, so they responded to a home in the 1000 block of East Fenley Drive, which is near South Nogales Highway and Old Vail Road.
According to the video, deputies twice knocked on the front door and announced that they were from the PCSD. No one came to the door, and deputies were not able to get inside.
They then tried the backdoor, but were not able to get inside.
A deputy grabbed a shovel and broke a window to a room in the back of the home. A deputy went inside and encountered Melendez, who was armed with a handgun.
The deputy who was inside the home then fired, as did a deputy who was outside the home. It is unclear if Melendez ever fired his gun, but he could be heard yelling before the deputies shot him.
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PRCIT said the deputies who fired their weapons are Santiago Casillas-Velazquez, a three-year veteran of the PCSD, and Andres Vasquez, a two-year veteran.
As is normal, PRCIT was activated to handle the criminal investigation. The Tucson Police Department will lead that investigation. The PCSD will also investigate, but only to see if the deputies followed department policies.
The findings from the PRCIT investigation will be turned over to the Pima County Attorney’s Office.
There have been five other officer-involved shootings in southern Arizona this year.
- On Jan. 12, a man was injured, and a woman was arrested following a deputy-involved shooting near Interstate 10 and Cortaro Road.
- On Jan. 23, there was an officer-involved shooting at an apartment complex near Campbell and Bilby in Tucson.
- On Jan. 27, there was a trooper-involved shooting near Interstate 10 and Speedway in Tucson.
- On Jan. 27, there was a Border Patrol agent-involved shooting on Arivaca Road in Pima County.
- On April 6, officers from the TPD shot a suspect after a carjacking and standoff at a home in the 100 block of West Ajo Way.
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