A Pima County Sheriff's Department deputy shot and wounded a man northwest of Tucson who fled from U.S. marshals last week while stabbing himself in the neck, authorities said Wednesday.
Kyle Montgomery, 25, was shot just after 2 p.m. near West Najo Lane and North Sandario Road, a rural area near West Picture Rocks Road, authorities said.
Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos, who was at the scene, said Montgomery was armed with a modified short-barrel rifle, and one deputy "perceived a serious threat" and fired, striking Montgomery.Β
The deputy was not injured, and neither were two other deputies who also chased Montgomery after he ran from a Family Dollar store in the area, said Deputy Courtney Rodriguez, a sheriff's spokeswoman.
Deputies responded to the area after receiving a report of a suspicious man at the Family Dollar on North Sandario Road. When deputies arrived at the store, the suspect ran and deputies chased him, Rodriguez said.
The man hid in the bushes, and deputies gave repeated commands for the man to come out. The man produced "what appeared to be some weapon, and that is when the officer-involved shooting occurred, said Rodriguez.
Montgomery, who was shot in the shoulder area, was taken to Banner-University Medical Center, with non-life threatening injuries, said Rodriguez.
Last Wednesday, Montgomery was seriously injured after stabbing himself in the neck while fleeing from law enforcement officers on the northwest side, authorities said.
At about 9:30 a.m. Dec. 30, a U.S. marshals task force was looking for a suspect at the Red Roof Inn, near Ina Road and I-10, when they encountered a man matching the suspect's description, said Arizona Department of Public Safety Spokesman Quentin Mehr last week.
The man saw the marshals and fled on foot before they could make contact, running across the eastbound lanes of I-10 and over the median, Mehr said.
While the suspect was running across the westbound lanes of the freeway, he was almost struck by a semi truck, then took out a pocket knife and stabbed himself in the neck, according to Mehr.
Northwest Fire responded to the scene and transported the man to Banner-University of Arizona Medical Center to be treated for his injuries.
While being admitted to the hospital, the man, who was not the suspect the marshals were originally seeking, was found to be in possession of narcotics, Mehr said.
DPS referred the case to the Pima County Attorney's Office to review possible charges, but the man was not arrested at that time, and was undergoing treatment.
Nanos said Montgomery was suppose to undergo a mental health evaluation stemming from the incident last week after he fled marshals and stabbed himself. "Our mental health support team served an order β a civil order for him to go to court for a hearing on his mental health status on Monday. He was suppose to go to Superior Court for a mental health evaluation," said Nanos.
"He did not go. He was in a mental health care facility, Sonora Behavioral Health (Hospital and Inpatient Treatment), because he was in custody there," Nanos explained. "The facility released him sometime after that. I don't understand this."
"I just cannot believe this," said Nanos, adding that Montgomery could have shot one of the deputies. "It is ironic that we don't have a mental health care system in place here. We need some of the money President Obama approved in his package for mental health care treatment," Nanos said.
"We are coming up on the anniversary of one of the worst shootings (Jan. 8, 2011) here, and we are still struggling with our mental health treatment," said Nanos. Β
