Second Phx shooting victim dies, police recover guns
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Osborn MaledonMark P. Hummels, 43, died of his injuries Thursday night. Colleages described him as 'a devoted father, adoring husband and true friend' and 'a future star.' -
Rebekah Zemansky/TucsonSentinel.comArizona Department of Public Safety's SWAT team, visible on the third-floor balcony, finishes a second sweep of the Phoenix Peak, an office building where a shooting occurred earlier in the morning. -
Rebekah Zemansky/TucsonSentinel.comPhoenix Police Department Sgt. Tommy Thompson updates reporters on 16th Street. -
Rebekah Zemansky/TucsonSentinel.comWorkers wait for officers to take them in small groups to retrieve their cars after the Phoenix Peak office building was cleared. -
Rebekah Zemansky/TucsonSentinel.comArizona Department of Public Safety's SWAT team leaves the building after a second sweep of the Phoenix Peak office building. -
Rebekah Zemansky/TucsonSentinel.comArizona Department of Public Safety's SWAT team, who were serving a warrant nearby when the shooting occurred, provided immediate support for Phoenix Police Department in securing the building. -
Rebekah Zemansky/TucsonSentinel.comA police SWAT team prepares to enter the north Phoenix house of shooting suspect Arthur Harmon. -
Phoenix Police DepartmentSuspected shooter Arthur Douglas Harmon.
A second victim of Wednesday's shooting at an office building in Phoenix, attorney Mark Hummels, died Thursday night. Police found three guns in suspect Arthur Harmon's car, including the pistols used in the shooting.
Hummels was one of three people shot in Wednesday's attack, and the second to die following the shooting.
"He passed away at 9:33 p.m. yesterday, last night," said Athia Hardt, speaking on behalf of Osborne Maledon, the firm where Hummels worked.
Hummels, 43, leaves behind a wife, Dana, and two young children. Funeral services have been planned for next Tuesday.
Shooting suspect Arthur Harmon killed himself in a Mesa parking lot following the shooting, police said.
Weapons were found in Harmon's car Thursday morning including a Springfield 1911 .45 caliber pistol, a Ruger .22 caliber pistol and a 1970's vintage Colt AR15 rifle. All will undergo forensic testing.
"The pistols were used in the shooting at the office complex while the rifle was fired at the witness who followed him," Phoenix Police Department Sgt. Tommy Thompson said. "It is believed they were all recovered at the scene in Mesa where Arthur Harmon was found."
The Osborn Maledon website described Hummels as "a devoted father, adoring husband and true friend" in his personal life and "a future star" professionally.
"Particular to Tucson, Mark went to to the James Rogers College of Law, graduating first in his class in 2004," Hardt said. "He went on to achieve the highest score on the Arizona Bar Exam. He then clerked for Arizona Supreme Court Justice Andrew Hurwitz before joining Osborn Maledon, P.A."
Hardt said that the family is planning funeral services for 4:30 p..m. next Tuesday at the Orpheum Theatre, 203 W. Adams, Phoenix.
The Arizona Community Foundation is accepting donations to a Mark Hummels Memorial Fund. The family will also be making arrangements for an educational fund for Hummel's children.
3 shot, 2 fatally
Harmon shot three people at a Phoenix office complex Wednesday morning, police said.
Steven D. Singer, 48, the CEO of a Scottsdale call center, died Wednesday.
The third gunshot victim, Nichole Hampton, 32, is recovering in the hospital.
Harmon was found dead Thursday morning in a Mesa shopping center parking lot from what appeared to be self-inflicted gun shot wounds, police confirmed.
Police said that Harmon's body was found near Loop 202 and Dobson Road along the Logan Roadhouse restaurant by a landscaper. Officers then located Harmon's white Kia nearby.
Gunfire broke out near a mortgage company on 16th Street north of Glendale Avenue, around 10:30 a.m. Wednesday. Three wounded people were taken to an area hospital, one with life-threatening injuries, Thompson said
Hummels was shot in the head and neck and underwent surgery, according to an email sent out Wednesday by a colleague in the Phoenix law firm Osborn Maledon.
Hummels represented Singer's firm, Fusion Contact Centers, in a suit filed by Harmon in 2012 over a contract in which the shooting suspect was to refinish call center furniture.
According to court records, Harmon was advanced $29,000 in a deal that he later alleged was a "scam."
An arbitration hearing was scheduled in the case Wednesday morning.
Police said that Harmon became involved in an argument with Singer and Hummels outside the office after the meeting. He shot them both, and Hampton, who was a bystander, Thompson said.
Officers cordoned off Harmon's home near 28th Street and Greenway Road — about seven miles from the shooting scene — until they obtained a search warrant Wednesday afternoon. A search of his home took just minutes in the afternoon.
A neighbor of Harmon's said an officer told her that the Kia was rented, and that his burgundy or brown Bronco or Blazer was missing.
"I don't know what he had to be upset about," said neighbor Tina Rooker on Wednesday, describing Harmon as "grumpy" and "not a people person." He was the neighborhood mechanic, she said, and liked to drink beer in his front yard.
"He's not somebody you say hi to when you go by; you don't get the same response," she said.
Rooker's husband, Stewart, said "I just know him as the race car guy."
Early reports from the scene indicated that up to five people had been shot. Medical workers took two other people from the scene who were being treated for stress, Thompson said.
Statement issued by Osborn Maledon
Our friend and partner, Mark Hummels, died at 9:33 p.m. last evening from injuries he suffered in Wednesday's senseless shooting in Phoenix.
We are devastated at this news about our beloved friend. Our deepest sympathy and support pour out to his wife, Dana, and their two children. The trust and affection Mark inspired in every reach of our law firm and with his clients are a lasting testament we will always cherish.
We are sad beyond measure also to have lost our long-time friend and client, Steven D. Singer, the CEO of Fusion Contact Centers, in this tragedy. Steve was a long-time client of the firm and an accomplished entrepreneur. Our thoughts and prayers are with Steve's family as well.
Mark Hummels was the best kind of lawyer - a man who was highly capable in his practice and caring to his core about his community. Still in the early years of his career, Mark earned many accolades for his skill as an attorney. He was president of the Phoenix Chapter of the Federal Bar Association and highly regarded by the State and Federal bench. He was recognized by "Benchmark Litigation" as a "future star" in litigation. To judges, attorneys and other professionals, he was a trusted counselor in ethics and disciplinary proceedings.
Mark also gave back to the community at large, serving on the training committee for Arizona Town Hall and providing pro bono legal services to those who could not afford counsel. This giving spirit was enhanced during his early years as a reporter for the "Santa Fe New Mexican," an experience that honed his rare insights into people and our society.
Above all, Mark was the most decent of men. An adoring husband, dedicated father and true friend, Mark was what all of us aspire to be on our best days.
As has been reported, both Mark and Steve were engaged in a mediation before they were shot.
The loss of Mark and Steve in any circumstances would be a tragedy. For this to happen to them, while pursuing Mark's life's work to resolve conflicts peacefully, is beyond understanding, a terrible loss for us all.
State Bar of Arizona Statement
John F. Phelps, Chief Executive Office and Executive Director of the State Bar of Arizona, issued this statement in response to yesterday’s death of attorney Mark Hummels
The death of our colleague, Mark Hummels, is heartbreaking on so many levels. The loss of any life is tragic. But in this case, Mark was killed as a result of simply trying to do his job. We all know that attorneys are many times forced into conflicts that are often heated and emotional. Their goal is to use the skills they have learned to help their clients and adversaries understand that the legal system can resolve their problem. That concept is a critical part of what makes the United States not just a great nation, but a place of great stability. But this can come at a cost. Hummel's murder was not the first. Last year Yuma attorney Jerrold Shelley was shot and killed by the divorced husband of a client. A study done by the American Bar Association in 1998 says that 60% of family law attorneys have been threatened by adverse parties, and 17% by their own clients. The ABA even has a list of safety precautions for lawyers. Still, attorneys come to work each day. They face hostility and anger knowing that their job is to find common ground where they can, and resolution where they can't. Mark Hummels died after leaving a mediation. He died fulfilling Cicero's belief that "We are all servants of the laws in order that we may be free." Our thoughts and prayers go out to Mark's family, friends and co-workers, as well as the other victims of this terrible incident.
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