Man dies saving wife after accused gunman ambushes them at mailbox, Arizona cops say

A Chandler woman says her husband saved her life when a neighbor armed with a rifle opened fire as they drove to collect their mail.

When she looked up, the Arizona woman saw her 58-year-old husband — who pushed her head down to avoid the gunfire — had been shot “numerous times” and died, police told KNXV.

Officers arrested Channing Vanderbilt, 31, on charges including murder and aggravated assault in the 4:47 p.m. shooting Monday, April 3, Chandler police said in a news release.

Vanderbilt, who lives nearby, posed as a bystander when police arrived, The Arizona Republic reported. He denied shooting anyone and told police someone planted a rifle in his pickup truck.

He also told police he had picked up some of the bullet casing as souvenirs, according to the newspaper.

The woman told officers Vanderbilt began firing a rifle as she and her husband drove up to a shared neighborhood mailbox to collect their mail, police said.

Police told KNXV the attack was “unprovoked.”

After seeing her husband had been shot, police said, the woman called 911 and identified Vanderbilt to officers as the gunman.

Police said they had earlier responded to a report that someone had shot a cinder block wall in the vicinity. They are investigating to determine whether the incidents are related.

Chandler is a city of 280,000 people about 20 miles southeast of Phoenix.

This story was originally published April 5, 2023 at 9:13 AM with the headline "Man dies saving wife after accused gunman ambushes them at mailbox, Arizona cops say."