Authorities remove 5 bodies from Phoenix home after shooting
A Phoenix Police Department officer spoke with neighbors across the street from a home, Friday, in Phoenix, the day after five people were killed inside after a shooting in that same house just across from these neighbors. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
PHOENIX » Authorities removed five bodies from a Phoenix home Friday where they say a man shot and killed his mother, two brothers and one of their wives before taking his own life.
Police identified the shooter as 50-year-old Driss Diaeddinn, and investigators said he had been arguing with his brothers before the attack Thursday.
"He had made some off-the-wall comments, at the time saying goodbye to people," police Sgt. Trent Crump said. "They didn’t know what he was meaning at the time. But now in hindsight, they realize that he was just having some sort of a breakdown."
The brothers — including victims Dodi Fayed, 56, and Reda Diaeddinn, 38 — ran a company that offered cars for hire and a restaurant, Crump said.
They had been in an ongoing business dispute before Diaeddinn opened fire, starting the attack, Crump said.
Diaeddinn’s mother, 76-year-old Kenza Benzakour, was shot as she came downstairs, Crump said.
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Diaeddinn continued upstairs, where he killed his 26-year-old sister-in-law, Meriem Ben Yahia, Crump said. Police weren’t sure Friday evening which brother was her husband.
After shooting his relatives, Diaeddinn went into a bedroom and shot himself, Crump said.
When the attack started, Driss Diaeddinn’s wife ran out of the home with their young children, ages 3 and 10 months, and called police, Crump said. His sister, who had been hiding inside, came out later while a police SWAT team surrounded the house. Authorities have not identified the survivors.
A neighbor, Scott Pollack, described the family as quiet and respectful. "They didn’t make a lot of ruckus," he said, adding, "What happened, it just blew our minds."
Pollack said he watched from an upstairs window as the SWAT team surrounded his neighbor’s home in north Phoenix. Several SWAT officers broke the glass of a back patio door to enter after about a half hour.
The family was of Moroccan descent, Crump said. The family’s last name "Diaeddinn" may have several different spellings, including "Diaeddine," police said Friday evening.
The brothers had apparently lived in Phoenix for several years, but some of the victims were visiting from out of the country.
Police were working with consular officers to notify their families.
