Chandler police said personal issues between three men led to a deadly shooting at an Amazon delivery station in Chandler Wednesday morning.
Police said at around 9:34 a.m., officers received a call saying a person had been shot in the parking lot of the Amazon facility.
When officers arrived, an unresponsive male, later identified as 29-year-old Jacob Murphy, was located with a gunshot wound in the parking lot and was later pronounced deceased.
Police said a second man, an Amazon contract worker, was also shot several times. Authorities said the worker was rushed to the hospital with life-threatening injuries.
Officers said a third man, another Amazon contractual worker, who was also involved in this incident, was contacted by police and reported no injuries.
Police said preliminary information indicates Murphy, who was not an Amazon worker, arrived at the business armed with a firearm. Authorities said Murphy reportedly shot the second man numerous times before the third man fired at Murphy using his personal gun.
At this time, police said they cannot determine if the actions of the third man resulted in Murphy's death or if Murphy took his own life.
Chandler police said this was in no way a targeted effort on the Chandler Amazon delivery station, and at no time was this an active shooter incident. Instead, personal issues between the three males, unrelated to Amazon, led to this shooting.
"We're deeply saddened by this senseless act of violence in our parking lot. We're working closely with law enforcement as they investigate and are focused on supporting our team during this difficult time," said Amazon spokesman Richard Rocha.
Bryton Bobbitt was in his delivery van in the Amazon warehouse parking lot near McQueen and Queen Creek roads when the shooting started.
After hearing a "pop, pop, pop" sound, the driver quickly looked for a safe place.
“As soon as I saw employees running, I just put my van in drive and got out of here as quickly as I could,” Bobbitt said.
Rocha said operations at the facility had been suspended, and all employees and partners had been sent home with pay.
Police said both Amazon and the third man involved are cooperating with the police investigation. Police are not investigating the third man, who came to protect the second male, as a suspect.
"He did come to the aid of an individual who was being shot by our suspect. So and so in that case, I would say he is a Good Samaritan," said Sgt. Jason McClimans.
Police said there are no outstanding suspects at this time.
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What is the Valley
“The Valley” is what locals call the Phoenix Metropolitan Area. It is considered the largest metropolitan area in the Southwest.
The Valley is made up of various major cities other than Phoenix, including:
Mesa
Chandler
Scottsdale
Tempe
Glendale
Surprise
Peoria
Gilbert
El Mirage
Avondale
Litchfield Park
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Whether a city is in the “East Valley” or “West Valley” depends on where it is in relation to Phoenix.
The cities of the Valley have a combined population of 4,845,832 people, according to the 2020 United States Census. This makes it the 11th largest metropolitan area in the country right behind the Boston and Atlanta areas.
How big is Maricopa County?:
Maricopa County is the United States’ 4th largest county in terms of population with 4,485,414 people, according to the 2020 Census.
The county contains around 63% of Arizona’s population and is 9,224 square miles. That makes the county larger than seven U.S. states (Rhode Island, Delaware, Connecticut, Hawaii, New Jersey, Massachusetts and New Hampshire).
One of the largest park systems in the nation is also located in Maricopa County. The county has an estimated 120,000 acres of open space parks that includes hundreds of miles of trails, nature centers and campgrounds.
The county’s seat is located in Phoenix, which is also the state capital and the census-designated 5th most populous city in the United States.
The county was named after the Maricopa, or Piipaash, Native American Tribe.