Arm cut mistaken for gunshot wound prompts school lockdowns

A “shots fired” call that prompted two Maricopa schools to go into lockdown Friday was spurred by miscommunication between a Spanish-speaking man and a Tortosa resident who thought the man had been shot.

Maricopa police spokesman Ricky Alvarado said police still are piecing together what exactly took place at a residence in the Tortosa neighborhood where a domestic dispute involving two men and a woman occurred.

One of the men cut his arm when jumping a backyard wall, Alvarado said. When the man came into contact with a resident on the 36000 block of Cartegna Lane, the resident asked the man about his injury.

The man, who only spoke Spanish, pointed to his arm in a manner in which the resident believed he was saying he had been shot, Alvarado said. The resident then called 911.

Desert Wind Middle School and Santa Cruz Elementary School – both in the Tortosa development – went into lockdown after police informed school officials of the situation.

No one has been arrested and the incident is still under investigation, Alvarado said.

The man who injured his arm is a former boyfriend of the woman, he said. The other man is a current boyfriend.