TEMPE, AZ — Two men have been arrested for shooting three people in two incidents near Arizona Mills Mall on October 2.
On Thursday, Tempe police arrested Quinshawn Hopkins, 20 and Zareek Batchelor, 19, near Priest Drive and Broadway Road for two shootings that happened on October 2.
Court records show that the first shooting took place just before 8 p.m. in the parking lot of the El Pollo Loco at Arizona Mills Mall. A witness that was in the car with the victim reportedly told police that they were there to buy drugs through a contact they met on Snapchat. The person shot in that incident did not survive.
Police say the four 9mm cartridge casings found at this scene and the 18 cartridge casings found at another shooting later that night were fired from the same gun. The same vehicle was also reportedly seen at both locations.
The second shooting happened at the Sanctuary on Broadway apartmentsnear Priest Drive and Broadway Road around 11:40 p.m. An 18-year-old man was found inside a vehicle with a gunshot wound, and a second shooting victim, a 19-year-old man, was also found outside the car. Both were taken to the hospital for treatment, but police say the 18-year-old man died from his injuries.
Police say the car is associated with Batchelor. A phone records check allegedly places Batchelor in the area of both shootings. Investigators say a Snapchat message from Hopkins to Batchelor, sent just before the second shooting, informed Batchelor that the victim had arrived.
Court records show that they were there to conduct another drug transaction with a contact they also made through Snapchat.
Police say Hopkins and Batchelor both fled to California in the days following the murders but later returned to Arizona.
Hopkins is being held on a $1,000,000 bond while Batchelor is being held on a $500,000 bond on multiple charges of 1st-degree murder and armed robbery.
