Chaos in Downtown Tucson: 21-Year-Old Suspect Arrested After Crowded Street Shooting Leaves 9 Wounded

TUCSON, Arizona — A lively weekend night turned into a scene of absolute terror early on Sunday morning, July 19, 2026, when a gunman opened fire into a crowded downtown district. The mass shooting left nine people critically injured and sparked a direct confrontation between the suspect and the Tucson Police Department.

The suspect, identified as 21-year-old David Leroy French, was shot and wounded by a responding officer as he attempted to flee the scene. He remains in custody at the Pima County Jail facing multiple felony charges.

The violence unfolded around 2:00 a.m. outside Empire Pizza, located in the 100 block of East Congress Street near North Sixth Avenue. According to investigators, the incident began as a verbal argument between two groups who were familiar with each other.

The dispute rapidly escalated when French allegedly pulled out a firearm and fired at least 10 rounds directly into the crowded street. Chaos erupted as bystanders scrambled for cover. A total of nine victims sustained gunshot wounds, primarily to their extremities, and were rushed to local hospitals in critical condition.

A heavy police presence was already deployed in the area, with dozens of uniformed officers patrolling the busy nightlife district. Upon hearing the sudden barrage of gunfire, nearby officers rushed toward the sound and spotted French running away from the scene on foot.

"A TPD officer courageously engaged the suspect and stopped the violence," Tucson Police Chief Monica Prieto said in a statement.

According to court documents, responding officers gave French multiple verbal commands to stop, which he ignored. An officer discharged their weapon, striking the 21-year-old. French was transported to the hospital with life-threatening injuries but survived and was later booked into jail. No police officers were harmed during the exchange.

The shooting has ignited an intense local debate regarding criminal justice policies and gun control. Court records revealed that at the time of the mass shooting, French was actively serving a four-year probation term. He had pleaded guilty to a separate charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon less than two years prior.

Tucson Mayor Regina Romero publicly decried the state's gun regulations, noting the lasting trauma such incidents leave on the community. Conversely, representatives from Empire Pizza criticized shifting the focus onto gun laws, instead pointing the blame at systemic issues within the local justice system and a perceived failure to aggressively prosecute violent repeat offenders.

As the nine victims continue their recovery, the Pima County Attorney’s Office has formally leveled a long list of criminal charges against French. The suspect faces nine counts of aggravated assault with a firearm, nine counts of aggravated assault resulting in serious physical injury, and one count of discharging a firearm at a structure.

French is currently being held without bond as detectives review CCTV footage and gather additional eyewitness testimonies from the scene.