Businesses in downtown Tucson are continuing to process the mass shooting that occurred in the 100 block East Congress Street early Sunday morning.
Gunfire erupted outside Empire Pizza at the corner of Congress and Sixth Avenue around 2 am on July 19, leaving nine people wounded.
According to Tucson Police, an officer responding to the scene shot and wounded the suspect, later identified as 21-year-old David Leroy French, after he refused to comply with police commands. Crystal Moore, president and CEO of the nonprofit Downtown Tucson Partnership, said she attended the Urban Sonoran Art Auction just a block from the shooting the night before.
“I was dazed. I was extraordinarily sad. I'm still very sad about it,” Moore said. “What we should be talking about today is that lovely community event that brought so many community members and operators and downtown enthusiasts together. But instead, we're dealing with the aftermath of a very unfortunate situation.”
In April 2025, the Downtown Tucson Partnership implemented the ‘Tucson Together’ program, an initiative designed to reduce fights, disruptive incidents and unsafe behavior within bars and venues. Next month, the organization will introduce new technology Moore believes will make downtown safer.
A new handheld scanner, made by the security company Patronscan, tracks who has been kicked out of a bar after a bouncer has scanned an ID with the device. It is linked to the other businesses that use the devices.
“They're detecting the best fake IDs. Not just state-issued, but they're reading out-of-state cards as well as passports,” Moore said.
Moore says that visual descriptions, like specific clothing, can be labeled on the scanners by the operators as well.
A shipment of 17 scanners will arrive by late July and be implemented in downtown Tucson in early August, Moore said. As the initial batch of scanners is prepared for deployment, the Together Tucson group will discuss how the technology could potentially be extended to participating businesses outside of downtown.
Moore said the scanners are a step toward making downtown safer.
“What Together Tucson initiative is doing is collaborating among the business owners to continue the effort of making downtown a great place to be,” Moore said.
In addition, Tucson Police Chief Monica Prieto said in a statement that “there has been, and will continue to be, a substantial and highly visible TPD presence in Downtown Tucson for the safety of our community.”
Following the shooting, the suspect, David French, was transported from the scene to a local hospital with “life-threatening injuries,” police said. Once released, he will be transported to the Pima County Adult Detention Complex.
French faces 19 charges, including aggravated assault and firearm-related offenses, and could face more as the investigation continues, police say.
According to a statement from Pima County Attorney Laura Conover, French previously faced prison time for firing a weapon during an altercation when he was 19 years old. The judge in that case placed French on probation.
“It appears he was still under that supervision in our community without any documented infractions in the court file when Sunday morning's incident occurred," Conover stated.
