Matthew Lively and Adrian Marsh

The Republic | azcentral.com

A man suspected of shooting his wife, a civilian Casa Grande police employee, along with an off-duty Casa Grande police officer on Wednesday died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound on Loop 202 in Mesa, officials said.

Police shut down the westbound lanes of Loop 202 between Loop 101and Dobson Road before 4 p.m., and numerous police vehicles were at the scene surrounding the vehicle.

Casa Grande police later confirmed that the man, 37-year-old Juan Pablo Rodriguez-Fregoso, died at the scene from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

The U.S. Marshals Service task force located his vehicle on the westbound freeway on Wednesday afternoon, said Detective Nik Rasheta, Mesa Police Department spokesman.

Rasheta said the vehicle, a white Mitsubishi Galant, stopped on its own just east of Dobson Road on Loop 202.

Task-force members tried to contact the man, but there was no response. They used rubber baton rounds to break a window and then found the man dead in the driver's seat of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, Rasheta said.

The westbound freeway was closed early Wednesday evening, causing miles-long backups on the freeway, as police continued investigating the scene.

As of 7 p.m., the westbound freeway was partially reopened, with only the HOV and two left lanes still closed at Dobson Road, according to the Arizona Department of Transportation.

The civilian employee, identified as 39-year-old Yvette Rodriguez, is the wife of the man, according to a Casa Grande Police Department press release.

She suffered a gunshot wound in her upper back.

The off-duty police officer has been identified as Robert Price, 40, who was found with multiple gunshot wounds in his torso and leg, the press release said.

The two Police Department workers are in stable condition but remained hospitalized Wednesday night, according to the press release.

Casa Grande Officer Thomas Anderson said the shooting was reported at 10 a.m., and a 911 caller was able to give police the name of a suspect, who they identified as Rodriguez-Fregoso.

Police went to the scene of the call to discover two off-duty employees with gunshot wounds. They were flown to Phoenix-area hospitals in serious condition, Anderson said.

The shooting occurred on Lakeside Parkway, near a child-care agency and the Villago housing community.

Four schools in the area — one middle school, one high school and two elementary schools — were placed on temporary lockdown.

The lockdown had been lifted before noon.

Local resident David Uribe called the shooting a sad situation and said the neighborhood is normally very safe.

"We've been here for eight, almost nine years, and it's a very quiet community," Uribe said. "It's the first time anything like this has ever happened before. You can leave your garage door open and nothing happens."

The U.S. Marshals Service, the Pinal County Sheriff's Office and the U.S. Border Patrol were assisting in the investigation. Officials said they didn't know the motives for the shooting.

Mesa police will be investigating the death and Casa Grande police will continue to investigate the shooting, Rasheta said.

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