On the evening of September 18, 2007, 33-year-old Phoenix Police Officer Nicki James Nick Erfle was shot while on patrol with a partner. Officers encountered three people jaywalking and obstructing traffic on 24th Street north of Thomas Road. As officers moved to identify and detain one man who gave a false name linked to a misdemeanor warrant, he produced a weapon and shot Officer Erfle twice in the back of the head. Erfle was taken to a nearby medical center and died about an hour later, leaving a wife and two young children.

The shooter fled, carjacked a vehicle and took the driver hostage. About an hour later an unmarked police unit located and cornered the stolen car at 27th Avenue and McDowell Road. When the suspect pointed his gun at the hostage, an officer fired and the suspect was killed. Two women who had been with the gunman at the initial encounter were detained for questioning. The shooter was a convicted felon who had been deported the year before and had illegally re-entered the country.

Does anyone have information about the people who were with the shooter that night or remember seeing the stolen vehicle in that area?