Arizona: Man arrested after four people killed in five separate shootings | US News
A man in Arizona turned himself in after conducting a deadly shooting spree that killed four people in the greater Phoenix area.
Iren Byers, 20, turned himself in to police in Mesa Sunday and confessed to five separate shootings Friday night.
Police linked the five shootings after discovering similar 9mm shell casings at the scenes. You could link them all with a single handgun.
Byers has now been charged with four counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder.
According to an affidavit, Byers said he was motivated by a hatred of drugs and drug users and has repeatedly told investigators that he has “no remorse” for his victims.
The first victim has been identified as 41-year-old Nicholas Arnstad, who was found dead of a gunshot wound to the head around 2:45 p.m. Friday afternoon near a canal in Phoenix.
Byers confessed to the murder after police showed him a photo of the victim. He told police that Arnstad smoked fentanyl, which he didn’t like because his brother also abused the drug.
The shooter then took a bus to Beverly Park in Mesa, where he met 41-year-old Julian Cox, who spoke to him about “the blues” — a street name for fentanyl.
Cox’s body was not discovered until around 10:30 p.m. Friday night, police said.
Byers reportedly met the third victim, another 41-year-old man named Stephen Young, near a light rail station in Mesa. He shot Young in the head after he started talking about finding fentanyl.
The fourth victim was identified as John Swain, 40, a homeless man whom Byers met near railroad tracks in Mesa.
Eventually, the final victim was identified as 36-year-old Angela Fonseca, whom he met at a hotel in Mesa, about a half-mile from Beverly Park.
“He started talking to victim #5 until she made him so angry he had to shoot her in the face,” the affidavit reads. Fonseca survived the attack and was hospitalized in critical condition.
The affidavit also said that Byers refused to call 911 after each shooting because he felt the victims did not deserve medical attention.
On Sunday, Byers confessed to the shooting and told police where to find the clothes he wore and the pistol he used in the crimes.
The shooter had hidden them in his grandmother’s apartment in Mesa. After executing a search warrant, they found the clothing and murder weapon hidden in a belt pouch, the affidavit said.
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