Overview
- Early Thursday morning a person tossed an undetermined explosive device at a marked Mesa police car with its emergency lights on, the device detonated and the officer was treated for non-life-threatening injuries and later released.
- Police detained three people at the scene and have booked two men, Christopher Byasse and Christopher Jones, on charges that include arson, criminal damage and aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer for Byasse.
- Neighbor video circulated to reporters appears to show a person throwing a burning object at the patrol car seconds before a bright explosion, and investigators say the blast was a separate event from the original shots‑fired call.
- Forensic teams are working to identify the device, which police say may have been a firework, and a nearby school lockdown has been lifted as authorities say there is no ongoing threat to the public.
- The case will move to court and further forensic findings, and it comes at a time of heightened local attention to officer-involved incidents in Maricopa County that could shape public scrutiny and prosecutorial choices.