PHOENIX — A man accused of killing a police officer and holing up in an eastern Arizona cabin with a teenage girl believed to have been a hostage was shot dead Wednesday by officers after he opened fire, authorities said.
The shooting of Daniel Erickson, 36, came after he pulled a gun Tuesday and shot Officer Darrin Reed of the Show Low Police Department when Reed was responding to a report of a disturbance at a restaurant, the department said in a statement.
It was unclear whether Reed was shot inside or outside the restaurant in the town of about 10,000 people in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest.
Erickson fled and was found at the rental cabin in the nearby community of Pinetop-Lakeside, where he barricaded himself inside with the girl, said Chief Deputy James Molesa of the Navajo County sheriff’s office.
‘‘We assume that she was a hostage throughout the whole thing,’’ said Molesa.
The girl, who Molesa said was 14, was treated for minor injuries from glass shards. The Show Low department said she was 15. No other details about her were released.
Erickson’s death came after he fired at officers who had surrounded the cabin, and they returned fire, Molesa said.
Reed was married and had two children. The former sheriff’s deputy was scheduled to retire from the Show Low department in February, Molesa said.
‘‘This will be really tough for this area,’’ Molesa said.
No details were immediately disclosed about the restaurant disturbance, and Molesa said investigators were seeking to determine a motive for Reed’s shooting.