COTTONWOOD, Ariz. — One suspect is dead, another is wounded and eight police officers were injured after a wild brawl in an Arizona Walmart parking lot Saturday night.
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According to the Arizona Department of Public Safety, police responded to a call claiming a female Walmart employee was assaulted by several suspects inside the retail store. It happened in the small town of Cottonwood, Arizona, about 100 miles north of Phoenix.
The same group reportedly attacked the police officers when both parties faced off in the parking lot, though it's still unclear what triggered the violence.
"I was here last night. I heard a lot of noise. It looked like a riot in the middle of the parking lot. It was unbelievable," said one witness.
A DPS representative told CNN officials think the suspects are all part of the same family. "We believe they are from Idaho because of the license plate on their vehicle."
KNXV also described the surrounding environment.
"This Walmart parking lot in Cottonwood sometimes becomes an impromptu campground. ... According to one of the campers ... who was a witness here, the family that was involved in this ... they'd been staying here in the parking lot for several days, although he didn't know that there were nine people who were living in a Suburban," KNXV's Jon Erickson reports.
The DPS says all of the suspects have been taken into custody, and they're currently interviewing multiple witnesses. The DPS has also been asked to conduct a criminal investigation.