A police officer allegedly brought weapons to Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport

Phoenix police have identified a man who allegedly showed up at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport with weapons following reports of a Christmas Day shooting that left four injured.

Cole Nenon, 21, is charged with aggravated assault after he spit on and punched a Phoenix officer who was on the verge of a shootout outside security checkpoints in Terminal 4, police said in a news release Thursday.

Shortly before 11:25 p.m. Wednesday, Nenon entered the terminal with “multiple weapons” after a relative told him about a shooting that had occurred there nearly two hours earlier, police said.

Police previously said Nenon was incorrectly informed that there was an active shooter at the airport.

After handing over his firearms to other people at the airport, Nenon approached an officer standing guard directly outside the crime scene, according to police.

Police said he appeared angry and began yelling at the officer who approached him. Nenon did not stop screaming when the officer ordered him to, police said. The officer then took Nenon to the ground and arrested him, police said.

As they fought, Nenon punched the officer and spat at him, police said. He was later charged with suspicion of grievous bodily harm.

According to police, three firearms were seized and confiscated. Police said Nenon had no connection to the earlier shooting, which occurred near a restaurant outside the airport’s security checkpoints.

Airport officials said the report of shots fired outside the restaurant came in just after 9:40 p.m. The restaurant is located on the third level of the airport, which includes restaurants and shops.

Four people were taken to the hospital: a woman with life-threatening injuries and three men in stable condition, police Sgt. Mayra Reeson said.

The five people involved were all familiar with each other, Reeson said. According to Reeson, their physical argument escalated when someone pulled out a gun and started shooting.

“I believe it was a family dispute that escalated,” Reeson said during a news conference. “We don’t believe there is any outstanding suspect out there. I want to calm everyone down.”

When officers arrived, they found three people with gunshot wounds and another person in a Terminal 4 parking garage with “at least one stab wound,” Reeson said.

Police arrested two people in connection with the shooting, an underage girl and the adult man with the stab wound. Her identity has not yet been revealed. A weapon was recovered, Reeson said.

No other community members or airport travelers were injured, Reeson said.

Airport operations have resumed and no flights were affected by the shooting investigation, Phoenix police posted on X.

As of Thursday afternoon, police had not provided any information about the names of those involved. It was not yet known whether they were from Arizona.

Shootings at Sky Harbor Airport are “extremely rare,” Phoenix police said in an emailed statement Thursday.

“The area in the terminal in front of the security checkpoints is public, so the same rules/laws apply as any public area,” said Sgt. Phil Krynsky with the Phoenix Police Department in response to the Arizona Republic’s question about firearms carrying laws on Airport.

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A police officer allegedly brought weapons to Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport

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