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'Psycho' sought in shootings of 6

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  • Six shooting victims reported in stable condition
  • Suspect, victims in ongoing dispute, police say
  • Suspect traded gunfire with police
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(CNN) -- Police in Phoenix, Arizona, appealed Sunday for help in finding a 24-year-old man known as "Psycho" who is a suspect in Saturday's shootings of six people and a dog.

Jose Francisco Mendoza is a suspect in the shootings of six people, Phoenix police say.

A spokesman for the Phoenix Police Department described the suspect, Jose Francisco Mendoza, as a 5-foot, 9-inch tall Latino man.

Sgt. Joel Tranter said two police officers responded Saturday evening to a 911 report of a disturbance at a house in a suburb of Phoenix. When they arrived, they were met with gunfire from Mendoza, who was standing in the street, Tranter said.

Though the officers returned fire, neither they nor Mendoza was hurt, Tranter said in a news release.

Calls to police from inside the house reported that several people had been shot, he said. Video Watch relatives react, see bullet-riddled home »

Police sealed the neighborhood and entered the house, where they found five shooting victims; a sixth was found in front of the house, Tranter said. A dog was also critically wounded, Tranter said.

The six victims, who were taken to a hospital, have not been identified publicly. They were all described as being in stable condition.

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Police found a gun in a second house, leading them to believe Mendoza is unarmed, Tranter said.

"Preliminary information indicates that Mendoza and victims had been involved in an ongoing dispute that first started with a physical confrontation and then escalated into a shooting with numerous rounds being fired," Tranter said. E-mail to a friend E-mail to a friend

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