Arizona investigating fatal shooting by police officer

KINGMAN, Ariz. (AP) — A police officer in a northwest Arizona town near the Mohave Desert shot and killed a man who authorities said declared he had a gun while reaching around his waistband, the Mohave County Sheriff’s Office said Friday.

Authorities ultimately found no weapons in the immediate area where the shooting occurred late Thursday in Kingman, the sheriff’s office said in a statement. The man was identified as 36-year-old Marcus Adam Fuentes.

Fuentes was a passenger in a vehicle pulled over during a traffic stop after authorities learned he had outstanding warrants for his arrest, including a felony probation violation out of Maricopa County, the sheriff’s office said.

Fuentes ran from the vehicle and hid behind a pillar, reportedly telling Kingman officers that he had a gun and wasn’t going back to prison, the sheriff’s office said.

A Kingman police officer fired at Fuentes after officers attempted to negotiate with him and after Fuentes reportedly moved in a way to avoid being noticed, the sheriff’s office said.

Fuentes was pronounced dead at a local hospital.

The officer’s name wasn’t released. The Kingman Police Department said he has worked for the agency for eight years and is on standard, administrative leave.