Local
Mesa Police Officer Injured After Explosive Device Thrown at Patrol Car; Two Men Booked
An early-morning explosion in east Mesa damaged a police cruiser and sent an officer to the hospital as a precaution. Two men, including one barred from possessing weapons, now face arson and assault charges.
A Mesa police officer was treated and released from a hospital Thursday after an explosive device was thrown at his patrol car in an east Mesa neighborhood, authorities said. Two men have been booked in connection with the attack, which unfolded while officers were already searching the area for a reported shooting.
According to Mesa Police spokesperson Laura Cervantes, first responders were dispatched around 6 a.m. to reports of gunfire near 96th Street and Hampton Avenue, an area just south of Southern Avenue and east of Ellsworth Road. While canvassing the neighborhood, an officer stopped with his emergency lights activated at 96th Street and Sunland Avenue, roughly two blocks south of the original call.
It was there, police say, that someone intentionally threw an "undetermined explosive device" at the marked patrol car. The blast damaged the vehicle and left the officer hurt. He was transported to a nearby hospital as a precaution and released later in the day.
Three people were initially detained, and two have since been booked into custody. Christopher Byasse, 57, faces potential charges including aggravated assault against law enforcement, arson and misconduct involving a weapon. Police noted that Byasse is legally prohibited from possessing a weapon. The second suspect, Christopher Jones, 55, was booked on one count of arson and one count of criminal damage. Booking photos were not immediately available.
Police said the explosion was a separate incident from the initial shots-fired call, though both occurred in the same immediate area within a short window. A nearby school was placed on a brief lockdown as a precaution while officers secured the scene; that lockdown has since been lifted.
Authorities are asking residents to avoid the area as the investigation continues. The case remains under review, and additional charges could follow as detectives process evidence from the damaged cruiser and the blast site.
The incident highlights the risks faced by officers responding to routine calls in residential neighborhoods, and it raises questions about how quickly volatile situations can escalate. Mesa police have not released further details about the device or a possible motive, and it was not immediately clear whether the two men are connected to the original shots-fired report.
Anyone with information is urged to contact Mesa police.