4 injured, 2 detained in shooting inside Phoenix Sky Harbor this Christmas

PHOENIX (AZ Family) – Four people were injured in a shooting and possible stabbing that stemmed from a fight inside Terminal 4 at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport on Christmas Eve.

Phoenix police and fire officials responded to reports of shots fired at a Terminal 4 restaurant outside security around 10 p.m. 21.40 Wednesday. Officers quickly arrived on the scene and found three people who had been shot.

According to police, it started as a fight between three adults and two teenagers who knew each other. Authorities say one of the adults then pulled out a gun and fired several shots, hitting a woman and a teenager involved in the altercation.

The injured teenager was armed with a knife and reportedly slashed the gunman.

Police say the woman was taken to a hospital and stabilized, but remains in critical condition. The injured teenager is also in hospital, along with another man involved in the fight who suffered minor injuries.

Additional officers responded and detained the gunman and a teenage girl in the parking garage. The man was hospitalized with at least one cut or stab wound and is also in stable condition.

All involved in the incident were located and identified. Police say no arrests have been made in connection with the altercation and that a decision on charges will be made once the investigation is complete.

The Terminal 4 security checkpoint and PHX Sky Train were temporarily closed during the investigation and have since reopened. Airport operations returned to normal on Thursday morning.

Arizona’s family was at the scene when a gunman arrived at the airport just two hours later after a relative told him about the shooting. Court documents identify the man as 21-year-old Cole Elliott Nenon.

“This man received a text that he thought there was an active shooter at Sky Harbor. This was not an active shooter. There never was. And he arrived at the airport with a firearm,” said Sgt. Reeson said.

According to court documents, Nenon handed his guns to other people at the airport before approaching an officer. An officer saw an airport operations worker holding a small handgun and a rifle and repeatedly asked police, “What do I do?” At that point, Nenon walked up to the officer at a “very fast pace” as the officer stood near the crime scene barrier.

Nenon reportedly held out his hands to the officer and said, “arrest me,” in a loud, aggressive voice. According to documents, the officer asked him to stand down when Nenon began raising his voice and repeated, “kill me, kill me.”

Court papers say Nenon began “acting enraged” and yelling at the officer, who then forced him to the ground. During the fight, he reportedly spat at the officer and punched him in the face, knocking off his glasses. Video shows him trying to fall over and get up as he was tackled with the help of a good Samaritan.

Authorities stressed that Nenon was not involved in the original shooting.

“It’s not related to this (shooting). He got into an argument with a police officer. The officer was not injured, but there was an argument.” Reeson said. “Again, unrelated to the incident. No one was injured in this incident.”

Several officers detained Nenon and he was charged with one count of aggravated assault on a police officer. Three firearms were recovered.

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