WILLCOX, Ariz. (KGUN) — Residents of Willcox, Ariz. describe it as a usually quiet town.
Brandon Smith has lived there for two years and described Willcox as a farming and ranching community.
On Thursday, Randy Ray Brown, a Willcox resident, was being disorderly at a local Willcox establishment. He got drunk and started driving. Willcox Police chased him for 12 miles while he was driving about 115 miles per hour.
Brown led the officer to his home where Brown then shot at the officer before he set his own house on fire.
Smith could see the fire from his property and never imagined he would see such a scene in Willcox.
“The wind was blowing the wind from them to us and the fire was so big it was actually topping over the top of the large trees that were around the house,” Smith said.
Smith was afraid the fire would spread to his property, but luckily it did not.
Smith said Willcox doesn’t have a fire department, so he decided he would help put out the fire, going through Brown’s pasture and getting closer.
As he got closer, he realized police were on the scene.
“I found myself in between officers that were pointing their guns at the house and the sound of gunfire and I actually had to sneak out of there to get out of harm’s way,” Smith said.
He said he took cover behind a travel trailer, describing the situation as “scary”.
“My mind wasn’t that there was any kind of police activity. I thought I was going to a house fire to help,” Smith said.
He said he believes ammunition was in the house and exploding and said there was also a police helicopter circling.
Willcox Police Chief Dale Hadfield said Brown shot at the officer’s vehicle and disabled it.
“The officer ran to the back of his vehicle and ran from the area using his coverage. At some point the vehicle caught fire and was a total loss,” Hadfield said.
He said DPS and the SWAT team helped assist them and said no one was injured.
Brown is now in custody and is being charged with aggravated assault and attempted murder of the officer. Other agencies are currently investigating the situation.
Smith said he’s just glad everyone is safe.
“I’m very happy that that fire didn’t take off and turn out to be something to be a lot bigger,” she said.
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Andrew Christiansen is a reporter for KGUN 9. Before joining the team, Andrew reported in Corpus Christi, Texas for KRIS6 News, Action 10 News and guest reported in Spanish for Telemundo Corpus Christi. Share your story ideas with Andrew by emailing andrew.christiansen@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook, or Twitter.
