A woman at the bar survived, while two children and their mother were found dead later.
PHOENIX, Ariz. — Police in two West Valley cities investigated a deadly chain of shootings Monday that began outside a Glendale sports bar and ended with two children and their mother dead inside a Phoenix home.
The case unfolded over about two and a half hours after a husband called police to report that his wife had fired at him outside Tailgaters Sports Bar & Grill. The man was not hit, police said, but another woman was shot in the head and survived.
Glendale officers responded just after midnight to the bar near Bell Road. Police said the wife drove there in a gray SUV, fired shots at her husband and fled. Officers found a wounded woman at the scene and had her taken to a hospital. Investigators had not said whether she was connected to the couple or was struck during the shooting.
The investigation quickly shifted to Phoenix after the husband received text messages from his wife, police said. One message said she intended to harm their children. Another included a photo of one child bleeding from the head. Officers learned the woman and children were at a home near 49th Avenue and Paradise Lane, and Glendale and Phoenix police went to the address.
Police entered the home around 2:30 a.m. and found three people dead: a 10-year-old boy, an 18-month-old girl and their mother. Investigators said all three had apparent gunshot wounds. The children and mother had not been publicly identified Monday. Police said the mother was the suspect in the bar shooting and in the deaths at the home.
Phoenix Police Sgt. Lorraine Fernandez said the deaths hit first responders hard. “It is a very difficult incident to deal with today,” Fernandez said. She said officers found no earlier domestic violence or behavioral health calls linked to the home when they checked department records.
The split investigation leaves Glendale police responsible for the shooting outside the bar and Phoenix police responsible for the deaths at the home. Detectives were working Monday to confirm the sequence of events, process both scenes and determine why the shootings happened. No motive had been released.
Neighbors near the Phoenix home said the area is usually calm. One man told a local station the police response surprised him because the neighborhood is normally quiet. Another neighbor said the deaths left him “lost for words.” Their comments reflected the shock around a case that police said involved children too young to protect themselves.
Police had not announced a news conference or release date for the victims’ names by Monday afternoon. Investigators said the case remained active in both cities.
Author note: Last updated May 25, 2026.