Man Killed In Tucson Shooting Was Trying To Rescue Fire Victims

TUCSON, AZ -- A 35-year-old man has been identified by police as the shooter in a series of incidents on Tucson's south side Sunday that left two dead and injured four more, Tucson police said.

Police identified the shooter as Leslie Scarlett, who is accused of opening fire on an ambulance with two emergency medical technicians in the parking lot of Silverlake Park, after pointing toward a house fire almost a mile away, police said.

Both EMTs were transported to a nearby hospital, with the driver suffering life-threatening injuries and the passenger suffering serious injuries, police said.

Scarlett opened fire on fire department personnel responding to the fire, on the 2100 block of east Irene Vista, and struck a captain in the arm before fleeing, according to police.

Around 4 p.m., some 15 minutes after the first round of shots were fired, Scarlett rammed into a police car with his SUV and shot at an officer, before the officer, Danny Leon, shot Scarlett, leaving him with life-threatening injuries, police said.

RELATED: 2 Dead, Tucson Fire Captain Injured In South Side Shooting

The two people that died in the incident were 44-year-old Cory Saunders, whom police found outside the house, and a person that police have not identified that was found inside the house, according to police.

Detectives learned that Saunders lived in the same neighborhood as the residence where the fire occurred and was shot while trying to rescuing anyone inside the house by Scarlett, police said.

Another neighbor who joined Saunders suffered minor injuries in the shooting, according to police.

There were three children inside the home when the fire started, all of whom were found safe at a family member's house, police said.

Scarlett was taken to a nearby hospital and will be charged once he's released, according to police.