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Suspect at large after killing off-duty fire captain in Arizona

Kyle Brayer, a Marine veteran who had worked with the Tempe Fire Department for 10 years, died after being shot in the head.
Image: Tempe Fire Medical Captain Kyle Brayer
Tempe Fire Medical Captain Kyle Brayer.Glendale Firefighters / via Facebook

A suspect was at large in Arizona on Sunday after shooting an off-duty fire department captain in the head overnight, killing him, authorities said.

Scottsdale Police Department spokesman Ben Hoster identified the victim as Kyle Brayer, 34, of the Tempe Fire Department.

Image: Tempe Fire Medical Captain Kyle Brayer
Tempe Fire Medical Captain Kyle Brayer.Glendale Firefighters / via Facebook

A firefighter group in the nearby community of Glendale said that Brayer was a Marine veteran who had worked at the fire department for a decade.

In a statement, Hoster said that Brayer was one of several people riding in the back of a golf cart in downtown Scottsdale, just north of Tempe, at 2:30 a.m. (4:30 a.m. ET) when a red Scion coupe edged up behind them and began bumping the cart.

Brayer approached the car and was shot in the head, Hoster said.

In a separate statement, Scottsdale police said the shooting followed an altercation, though additional details were not immediately available.

The suspect, described as a black man with short hair, fled the scene, striking several other cars in the process, Hoster said.

Brayer was taken to a hospital with life-threatening injuries. He later died, Hoster said.