Man charged in downtown Tucson mass shooting was on probation for aggravated assault
TUCSON — A 21-year-old man who court records show was already on probation for a 2024 aggravated assault has been charged with 19 felonies in a shooting that wounded nine people outside Empire Pizza in downtown Tucson early Sunday. A police officer shot him as he fled.
David Leroy French is being held at the Pima County Adult Detention Center, jail records show.
According to an interim complaint filed with the Pima County Justice Court, Tucson police officers who were already in the area heard gunfire at about 1:59 a.m. Sunday, July 19, after what the document describes as a verbal altercation. Police have said a uniformed officer shot French as he fled the scene and ignored commands; he was taken into custody and hospitalized in critical condition. Because an officer opened fire, the incident is also being reviewed by the Pima County Attorney's Office as an officer-involved shooting.
Nine people — all adults — were shot and taken to hospitals, several in critical condition, according to police and the charging document; victim advocates have said they are hopeful all nine will survive. No deaths had been reported as of Monday. Investigators later located surveillance video that, the complaint says, shows French firing multiple rounds into a crowd outside the venue.
French is charged with nine counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, nine counts of aggravated assault causing serious physical injury, and one count of discharging a firearm at a structure — all class 3 felonies. The complaint recommends a high bond. As of Monday, the jail roster listed no bond set for French, a status that is typical before an initial appearance, when a judge sets release conditions.
On probation at the time
Pima County Superior Court records reviewed by the Tucson Daily Brief show French was already on probation for a 2024 aggravated assault when Sunday's shooting occurred. In case CR20243869, he pleaded guilty on April 8, 2025, to one count of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon or dangerous instrument — a class 3 felony, and the same statute he now faces nine counts of — for an incident on October 6, 2024.
On May 12, 2025, Judge J. Alan Goodwin suspended imposition of sentence and placed French on four years of supervised probation, commencing that day, according to the sentencing order. That four-year term runs until May 2029 and was in effect on July 19. The judge cited French's youth, acceptance of responsibility, remorse and lack of criminal history as mitigating factors; the deadly-weapon count was designated nondangerous under the plea, and a related charge of discharging a firearm within city limits was dismissed.
The charges in the downtown shooting are allegations. French has not been convicted and is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. A felony case begins in Justice Court and is transferred to Superior Court; French's next court date had not been posted as of Monday.
The interim complaint was first made public by KOLD News 13. The Tucson Daily Brief independently confirmed French's prior case, the terms of his probation and his custody status through Pima County Superior Court and Sheriff's Department records.