The Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office responded to a 911 call from a resident in the South Aspaas neighborhood of Cornville on Sunday, Feb. 12.
The caller reported that there had been a shooting at the residence, and urgent help was needed from both law enforcement and emergency medical services.
YCSO was notified that one of the occupants of the residence had been shot.
Deputies arrived and attempted to negotiate the surrender of the suspect, later identified as Kerry M. Wright, 59, of Cornville, but he allegedly refused to surrender and took up a position inside the house to prevent an arrest.
Knowing there was a potential victim with life-threatening injuries inside, a sergeant and two deputies organized an emergency extraction of the wounded victim, who suffered multiple gunshot wounds and was not able to escape on his own.
The victim was subsequently flown to the Flagstaff Medical Center for emergency treatment. As of Monday, Feb. 13, he was reported to be in critical condition undergoing surgery.
YCSO SWAT and the multi-agency Verde Valley SWAT took over the scene. Wright refused to come out and told negotiators several times that he would “shoot it out” with deputies.
At one point during the negotiations, Wright fired a shot from inside the house, which struck the windshield of one of the armored SWAT vehicles at the scene. No personnel were injured.
After several hours, Wright surrendered at approximately 7 p.m. He was taken by ambulance to Verde Valley Medical Center prior to being booked into jail.
Wright was charged with attempted homicide, numerous counts of aggravated assault on law enforcement and aggravated assault per domestic violence. He is being held without bond.
“It is during these times I am reminded of the selfless sacrifice of our men and women in law enforcement,” YSCO Sheriff David Rhodes said. “I want to thank the men and women who responded from the sheriff’s office, as well as the Verde Valley Multi-Agency SWAT.”
The case is being investigated by the YCSO Criminal Investigations Bureau.
