Two people died Wednesday evening when a patrol helicopter they were in crashed near Flagstaff, Ariz., while responding to a shooting involving the police, officials said.
The helicopter was deployed by the Arizona Department of Public Safety to assist the Flagstaff Police Department as its officers engaged a suspect, the police said in a statement.
It crashed in the Flagstaff area, the statement said, and a pilot and a paramedic trooper on board died in the crash. The police department said it would not immediate release their identities, but said the two were the only ones on board the helicopter.
The cause of the crash was not immediately clear.
Before the crash, police officers were “involved in a shooting with the active shooting suspect,” the department said. The suspect suffered “non-fatal gunshot wounds” and was taken into custody, the police said. There were no other injuries reported in the incident.
The police department said it was working with the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board to investigate the crash.
John Yoon contributed reporting.
Jonathan Wolfe is a Times reporter based in London, covering breaking news.
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