8 officers assaulted in Wal-Mart parking lot fight

One suspect was fatally shot and a policeman wounded during a brawl in a Wal-Mart parking lot in which eight officers were assaulted and seven suspects were eventually arrested, officials in Arizona said.

The officers from the Cottonwood Police Department were responding to a call shortly before midnight on Saturday saying a female Wal-Mart employee had been assaulted inside the store by multiple suspects, authorities said.

When they arrived, “the suspects were in the parking lot and immediately attacked the responding officers,” the Arizona Department of Public Safety said in a statement.

It said a 31-year-old police officer was shot in the leg but should make a full recovery after being flown to a hospital in Flagstaff, about 45 miles to the northeast, for surgery.

One of the suspects was shot and killed, the department said, and another was shot in the abdomen. Seven other suspects were eventually taken into custody, it said.

Eight officers and another Wal-Mart employee were assaulted in the parking lot during the fight, the statement said, and seven of those officers sustained minor injuries.

Citing state officials, the Arizona Republic newspaper reported on Monday that the seven suspects all belong to the same family, and that the five men, one woman and one girl had so far refused to give their names to police.

They will be booked as John and Jane Does on suspicion of charges including aggravated assault, attempted homicide and obstruction of justice, the newspaper said.