GILBERT, Ariz., (Reuters) – A gunman, identified by local media as a prominent border militia leader and a reputed neo-Nazi, shot dead four people including a toddler girl in Arizona today before apparently committing suicide, police said.
The gunman opened fire in a house in Gilbert, a suburb of Phoenix, Gilbert Police Sergeant Bill Balafas said. He could not immediately confirm the identity of the gunman.
The Arizona Republic newspaper, citing unnamed police sources, identified the suspected shooter as Jason “JT” Ready, a reputed neo-Nazi who founded the U.S. Border Guard, a militia that hunts for drug traffickers near the Mexican border.
The youngest victim, a girl of between one and two years old, was still alive at the scene, but later died in a hospital, Balafas said. The other dead were two men and two women. Police believe the shooter was among the dead.
Police recovered two handguns and a shotgun from the scene. However, Balafas said police had been unable to search the house, and confirm the identities of the dead after an unknown liquid was found in two 55-gallon drums outside the house.
“Right now, we have a hold up because we have a potential hazardous chemical situation,” Balafas said.
He declined to comment on whether Ready, who earlier this year set up an exploratory committee to run for the office of sheriff in Arizona’s Pinal County, was among the dead.
Balafas said officers were interviewing a witness to the shooting, which investigators believe stemmed from a “domestic situation.”
A Facebook page entitled “JT Ready for Sheriff” carried a message from the administrator noting unconfirmed reports that “a cartel assassination squad murdered JT Ready and several of his friends and family this afternoon in Gilbert Arizona.”
A call to the U.S. Border Guard group seeking comment late on Wednesday went unanswered.
Local resident Scott Kirkwood, 43, said neighbors were shocked by the shooting at the home, which he believed was occupied by a family.
“Everyone is shocked and concerned, nothing like this ever happens in this neighborhood, it’s usually very quiet,” he said.
“I heard sirens pulling up in my backyard, when I went to investigate there was like 30 cop cars, five ambulances, a fire truck, a SWAT team, the whole nine yards – it was just blanketing the neighborhood,” he added.