Details emerge in Thanksgiving gunfire incident

Maricopa Police have released additional details regarding an incident involving gunfire that shook the Maricopa Meadows community Thanksgiving Day.

Shelly Noble Jackson has been charged with disorderly conduct involving weapons and unlawful discharge of a firearm in connection with the incident in which nine shots were fired in her home in the 45500 block of Dirk Street.

Police and the Pinal County Regional SWAT team were called to the home at 1:46 p.m. Thanksgiving Day in response to a call from a neighbor stating she had seen Jackson fire four to five rounds into the ground from a handgun with a white handle and a silver slide while standing in her back yard. No one else was in the yard when the shots were fired according to the reporting party.

While the person reporting the incident was on the phone with MPD, Jackson reportedly fired two more shots, this time at the common wall separating Jackson’s home and that of the reporting person.

Police formed a perimeter around the area and contacted Jackson’s two adult daughters by phone, one of whom was inside the home with her one-year-old son and Jackson’s nine-year-old daughter.

Jackson’s daughters told officers they had been arguing with their mother, who they claim had been drinking throughout the day and began yelling in their faces. The daughter still in the home said she was in her bedroom with the one-year-old and heard several “thumps” and did not feel safe in the home so crawled out the bedroom window with her son.

The daughters advised police there were several firearms in the home including a handgun matching the description given by the reporting party and an AR-15 rifle.

After setting up the perimeter, MPD officers eventually were able to make contact with Jackson and her daughter, and the nine-year-old said she was scared.

“The Pinal County Regional Swat team responded, and one adult female was taken into custody for weapons violations,” MPD spokesman Hal Koozer said in a statement. “There were no injuries to anyone involved in the incident. Multiple shell casings were located at the residence. Detectives are still investigating this case.”

A search warrant was obtained, and the subsequent search of the home revealed a .380 caliber Taurus handgun with a white handle and silver slide in the dining room and nine shell casings on the back patio.

Jackson claimed she had been in the back yard alone with the Taurus handgun in the back waist of her pants, unholstered, when her dog jumped on her causing the firearm to fall to the ground and discharge. According to the police report, she then claimed that when she reached for the gun, she “accidentally grabbed it by the trigger and it went off again.”

Jackson could not provide an explanation for the other seven shell casings.

Residents in the area of Dirk Street were asked to shelter in place for nearly four-and-a-half hours during the incident.