UPDATE: Officer injured by arson suspect, suspect now dead

The officer-involved shooting that Parker Live broke Wednesday morning involved a man who was suspected of setting fire to two Quartzsite houses, according to the Department of Public Safety.

At 10:41 p.m. Tuesday night, Quartzsite Police Department began to receive calls of houses on fire in the area of 110 N Washington Street. Upon arrival to the scene, QPD officers learned the fires were intentionally set. Victims from one of the homes were able to identify the suspect who started the fires and were able to provide a description of the vehicle in which the suspect fled.

Just after 11:30 p.m., Arizona Department of Public Safety (DPS) troopers were called by the QPD to assist in the search of the suspect.

At 12:39 a.m., QPD officers and two DPS troopers located the suspect in an area north of the Burger King off Exit 17 in Quartzsite. Shortly after locating the suspect, he fired at the officers and troopers striking a QPD officer. One of the troopers returned fire while the other trooper dragged the QPD officer to cover and applied a tourniquet to stop the bleeding.

The injured QPD Officer was transported to Lake Havasu Regional Medical Center with serious injuries.

The suspect then fled north from the area of the shooting to another area where he had previously set up a strategic advantage of cover, utilizing a block wall and his vehicle for protection. Additionally, he set up multiple weapons including rifles, a handgun and ammunition. Troopers attempted to negotiate with the suspect but were unsuccessful. Troopers then engaged the suspect, who was shot. On-scene trooper/paramedics attended to the suspect who ultimately succumbed to his injuries.

Many other area agencies attended the scene to help, and DPS investigators are now leading an investigation.

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EDITOR’S NOTE: A previous version of this story had a misleading headline that some took to imply that the officer had died. It’s been clarified in this version.