A mass shooting in Tucson, Arizona, has left nine people wounded, police have said.
Officers shot a suspected gunman at the scene, and he was taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries.
The incident began at around 2 a.m. on Sunday, when officers on patrol heard gunfire. The shooting occurred in the 100 block of East Congress Street, an area downtown which is known for nightlife, bars and restaurants.
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“Those officers immediately began running toward the sound of the gunfire, and in doing so they came upon the suspect,” Frank Magos, of the Tucson Police Department, said at a news conference on Sunday.
Magos said that officers gave repeated commands to the suspect, before one of the officers shot him. No officers were injured.
All nine people wounded were given aid at the scene by officers before being transported to the hospital. Magos said that many of the victims were shot in their “extremities,” and they were all adults.
Police are appealing for information from the public and noted that the area is a “rather large crime scene.”
The Pima County Sheriff’s Department will lead the investigation into the shooting.
Tucson Police investigators will examine the police officer’s actions to determine if any violations by police occurred.
Arizona lawmakers have thanked police and shared concern about the incident.
Governor Katie Hobbs, a Democrat, wrote in a post on X, “Heartbroken by the mass shooting in downtown Tucson early this morning.”
She added that she was grateful to the police whose “quick intervention prevented further tragedy.”
Senator Ruben Gallego, a Democrat, said the shooting was a tragedy, writing on X that “Arizonans deserve to feel safe no matter where they are, and I’m thinking of the victims of this senseless violence.”
Republican Congressman Juan Ciscomani, who represents Arizona’s sixth district, wrote in a post on X, “We remain grateful for the brave Tucson police officers whose swift response helped protect our community.”
Tucson Mayor Regina Romero, a Democrat, said in a statement issued to Facebook that the city had experienced “another serious and senseless act of gun violence.”
“Easy access to guns and Arizona’s weak gun safety laws have continued to put all of us at risk,” she said, before calling for greater restrictions on gun ownership, including requiring universal background checks.
“There is more lawmakers can and should do,” she wrote.
At least 40,000 people were shot in 2025 in the U.S. as a whole, more than 110 people a day. That figure does not reflect gun suicides and was recorded in a year when shooting deaths and injuries decreased, according to the journalism nonprofit The Trace, which reports on gun violence.
Anyone with information should call the 88-CRIME tip line.
Debate Over Gun Control Laws
The Trump administration has moved to repeal many gun control policies. Those in support of these moves have argued that regulations have been returned to where they were before President Joe Biden’s term in office.
However, gun control advocates have raised concerns about the reversals.
The Trump administration has scrapped over three dozen firearms regulations, including a crackdown on illegal sales and restoring gun rights to some individuals with mental illness.
In 2025, mass killings in the U.S. dropped to their lowest level in two decades, despite the fact that Congress failed to enact any new federal gun control laws, but experts cautioned that this is more of a signifier of a return to typical levels than a victory for gun reform.
The debate comes as gun policy in the U.S. has increasingly become a state-level issue, with lawmakers pursuing sharply different approaches depending on the region. While some Republican-led states have expanded gun rights through measures such as permit-less carry laws, several Democratic-led states, including Colorado, Rhode Island and Virginia, have moved in the opposite direction, tightening restrictions on firearm purchases, high-capacity magazines and certain semiautomatic weapons.
Legal battles over many of these measures continue to make their way through federal courts, creating an increasingly fragmented patchwork of gun laws across the country.
