Laveen, AZ: Police: Laveen deaths were murder-suicide

It was a murder-suicide that took the lives of two people in a Laveen area home early Thursday, authorities have determined.

Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Joaquin Enriquez said in a statement that Mario Ramirez, 41, shot Teresa Beltran, 38, then proceeded to fire deputies before turning his .44 caliber handgun on himself.

Deputies had arrived at a large rural property near 65th Drive and Southern Avenue after a woman caller reported shots fired at about 5 a.m.

The caller said she heard shots coming from the home where her son lives on the same piece of land, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

Someone from inside the house fired two shots when deputies arrived at the location.

Deputies called for back up, and the SWAT team arrived. Someone continued to fire shots.

“Over 20 rounds were fired during the entire incident,” Enriquez said. “It is believed this tragic event was domestic violence related.”

Deputies threw a flash grenade into the home at approximately 7:20 a.m. They eventually approached the home and found Ramirez’s and Beltran’s bodies.