Two brothers died Wednesday after a reported domestic shooting at a Glendale home and a later police shooting near 163rd and Grand avenues in Surprise, according to Glendale police.
The sequence began around 7 a.m. Sept. 16 when a woman called police to a home near 59th Avenue and Cactus Road. Police said the woman reported that her adult sons were fighting in a bedroom and that she heard one gunshot.
Officers found 54-year-old Steven Landos unresponsive with a gunshot wound. He was pronounced dead at the home, police said.
Glendale police identified his brother, 64-year-old Terry Landos, as the suspected shooter and said he left the home in a white van. The description and vehicle information were relayed to the department’s Real Time Crime Center.
Vehicle located near 163rd Avenue and Grand
Within about 10 minutes, police tracked the van to the area of 163rd and Grand avenues in Surprise, according to accounts provided by Glendale police to ABC15 and Arizona’s Family.
Police said investigators used license-plate readers, traffic cameras and a drone while undercover detectives moved toward the area. Officers found Terry Landos in a wash and said he was carrying a handgun.
Glendale police did not specify whether any cameras owned by Surprise or any Flock Safety equipment helped locate the van. No connection has been established between this incident and the roadside cameras that remain after Surprise canceled its Flock contract Aug. 13.
In a statement reported by FOX 10 Phoenix, Glendale police said Landos displayed the handgun toward officers. Officers then fired, striking him. He died at the scene. No officers were injured.
Authorities said there was no continuing threat to the public and described the original incident as isolated domestic violence. Police also said they had responded to previous calls involving the brothers at the Glendale home, but they did not release additional details about those contacts.
Separate review of police shooting
The police shooting is being investigated by the U.S. Marshals Service, Goodyear Police Department and the West Valley Response Team, according to Glendale police. That review is separate from the investigation into Steven Landos’ death.
The accounts released Wednesday are preliminary statements from law enforcement. They do not establish every circumstance leading to the officers’ decision to fire, and authorities had not publicly identified the officers involved or released body-camera footage as of early Thursday.
The mother of the two men was safe and cooperating with investigators, police said. Authorities said victim-support resources were being offered to her.
Featured image: Original editorial illustration created for West Valley Post. It is not a photograph or map of either incident scene.
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