Particle.news
Download on the App Store

Three Dead in Two Tempe Shopping-Area Shootings as Police Arrest Husband, Search for Second Shooter

Police say the pizza shop victims were killed in a domestic attack, with the marketplace victim shot during an online sale meet-up.

Overview

  • Two Little Caesars employees, 32-year-old Shaquille Simmons and 21-year-old Mary Visser, were shot just after 9 a.m. at Rural and Guadalupe roads and later died at the hospital.
  • Police identified the suspect as 27-year-old Benjaman Visser Jr., who they say was married to Mary Visser; he was found at the scene with a gun, detained, arrested and booked into jail.
  • A separate shooting occurred just after 11 a.m. at Tempe Marketplace during an arranged online purchase, where a man with his girlfriend was shot and died at the scene as the suspect fled.
  • Detectives have interviewed witnesses and tapped the city’s Real Time Operations Center for surveillance leads in the marketplace case, and no suspect description has been released.
  • Tempe Police publicly requested tips from anyone with information, as nearby business owners described the scenes and news drone footage showed shattered glass and evidence markers.