Bodycam released from downtown Tucson mass shooting

For people who were downtown in the early morning hours of July 19, the release of police body camera video provides a closer look at how officers responded after nine people were shot near East Congress Street and Sixth Avenue. The shooting happened shortly after 2 a.m. near Empire Pizza & Pub, an area where pedestrians, customers and other bystanders were still present. Police say the victims were all expected to survive. The footage shows officers pursuing the suspected shooter, ordering him to drop his gun and then taking him into custody after an officer fired.

The Pima Regional Critical Incident Team released the video and additional details about the response. According to the information provided by the team, Tucson Police Department officers assigned to patrol the Downtown District heard gunfire and immediately went to the 100 block of East Congress Street. They found multiple people suffering from gunshot wounds. At the same time, a uniformed officer located the suspected shooter running near Congress Street while carrying a weapon.

The body camera recording shows officers chasing David Leroy French and repeatedly giving him commands to drop the gun. French did not comply, according to investigators. Shortly afterward, at least one gunshot can be heard on the recording, and French falls to the ground. The officer who fired was identified as Tanner Wolverton, a seven year veteran of the Tucson Police Department. Officers then placed French into custody and began providing first aid.

Police and Tucson Fire Department personnel treated all nine victims at the scene. French was also treated there after being shot by police. The nine victims and French were transported to a local hospital for additional care. The critical incident team said all nine victims were expected to survive, though the charging documents describe each case as involving serious physical injury. The information released did not provide the victims’ names or additional details about their injuries.

Investigators said the violence began with a verbal confrontation on the sidewalk in the 100 block of East Congress Street. The confrontation escalated when the suspect allegedly fired a handgun multiple times, striking nine people. A security camera at Empire Pizza, footage first obtained by the Arizona Daily Star, showed a gunman believed to be French firing down East Congress Street near Sixth Avenue while walking backward. The video then showed the suspect running through the street.

Police arrived about eight seconds after the shooting stopped, according to the security video description. The officers, who had been patrolling downtown, shined their flashlights toward the suspect before a short foot chase followed. The newly released body camera footage captures the final moments of that pursuit and the commands issued before the officer fired. The sequence offers a view of the immediate police response, but the investigation into what led to the confrontation remains active.

French, who is 21, was booked in absentia into the Pima County Adult Detention Complex on nine counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, nine counts of aggravated assault involving serious injury and one count of discharging a firearm at a structure. That totals 19 listed counts, while the initial reporting described him as facing more than two dozen charges. The critical incident team said additional charges were pending as the investigation continued. French is expected to be transported to the detention complex after his release from the hospital.

The incident also prompted an investigation into the officer involved in the shooting, as is standard for a police use of deadly force. The Pima Regional Critical Incident Team is handling the release of information about the shooting and the body camera footage. Its account said the officer encountered numerous bystanders in the immediate area and in the suspect’s path, adding to the urgency of the response. The released material does not indicate that any bystander was injured during the police shooting.

Investigators are still asking anyone with information about the confrontation, gunfire or events surrounding the shooting to come forward. Tips can be provided to the Pima County Sheriff’s Department at 520-351-4900 or anonymously through 88-CRIME. For downtown residents, workers, visitors and businesses, the case remains a significant safety concern because the shooting unfolded in a busy entertainment area and involved people who were near a late night business. The video and continued investigation are intended to clarify the timeline from the initial confrontation through the arrests and medical response.