Overview
- Investigators named the deceased as 41-year-old Gerald Lee Philpot, Jr.
- Police say Philpot called 911 around 5:45 p.m., threatened his young daughter in his car, and a crisis negotiator engaged him by phone.
- Officers stopped the vehicle near McQueen Road and Chandler Boulevard and urged him to release the child.
- Police report Philpot said he had a knife, a knife was recovered from the car, and two officers fired multiple shots; he died at the scene.
- The girl was not injured and was reunited with her mother, Chandler Police reported no ongoing danger, and Mesa Police are leading the investigation in Maricopa County’s first officer-involved shooting of 2026.