Unruly patron killed in shooting after being kicked out of Peoria sports bar

PEORIA, AZ (AZFamily) — A man who reportedly fired shots into a Peoria sports bar after he was kicked out late Tuesday night is dead following a shootout with two other armed men.

Peoria Police have identified the man as 46-year-old Mario Franco of El Mirage.

Investigators say the incident began just before midnight at the Deli Sports Bar near the Loop 101 Agua Fria Freeway and Peoria Avenue. There, an employee called 911 to request that police help with an intoxicated patron, Franco, who refused several requests to leave.

While officers were en route, police say Franco went to the parking lot, grabbed a handgun from inside his car and started firing shots in the air and into the bar. Dispatchers then received another call that someone in the bar had been shot in the leg by someone in the parking lot.

Two men on a nearby park bench saw what was happening and intervened. Police say Franco then pointed his weapon at the two men, who were also armed, and a gunfight ensued.

Franco was shot in the chest, while the two other men weren’t hurt.

Peoria Police Officer Kristopher Babros said that when officers arrived, the two men were still pointing their handguns toward Franco, who was inside the passenger side of his BMW sedan. Both men cooperated with police and were briefly detained.

Franco was pronounced dead at the scene.

The person inside the bar who was shot in the leg has since been treated and released from the hospital. Babros commended the men who intervened before any other innocent people were hurt.

Peoria PD said there is no further threat to the community.