Suspect in custody after 2 men fatally shot in broad daylight at Glendale bus stop
Nov 21, 2023, 11:43 AM | Updated: 12:14 pm
PHOENIX — Two men shot in broad daylight at a Glendale bus stop on Monday afternoon have died, and a suspect is in custody, authorities said Tuesday.
Richard Hodakievic, 69, and Jaquey James, 24, were allegedly shot by 26-year-old Dominic Celaya near 51st and Northern avenues, the Glendale Police Department said.
“We have no reason to believe that he knew either one of these individuals,” Glendale Police spokesman Jose Santiago said during a press conference Tuesday morning. “We believe this to be a truly random act. It’s a horrific act.”
Police thankful fatal Glendale shooting wasn’t ‘much worse’
Celaya was booked into jail on two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of unlawful discharge of a firearm.
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“I can’t stress enough how heinous of an act this is,” Santiago said. “These two individuals were simply sitting at a bus stop when Mr. Celaya approached them firing multiple rounds. We are quite thankful that the situation wasn’t much worse. This was a very active intersection. This was at the height of a Monday afternoon.”
Officers responded to a shots fire call around 2:30 p.m. and found Hodakievic and James with multiple gunshot wounds.
The victims were taken to a hospital, where they died of their injuries.
How did Glendale officers identify, arrest Dominic Celaya?
Santiago said Celaya had been arguing with his girlfriend in a vehicle before the shooting, Santiago said. After the altercation turned physical, Celaya allegedly got out and starting firing.
“She was one of the witnesses and she helped us identify him as the shooter,” Santiago said of the girlfriend.
Witnesses at the scene reported seeing a man firing shots in the air on the north side of Northern Avenue before crossing the street and shooting the victims at close range on the south side.
Officers located and captured Celaya in the backyard of a home on Belmont Avenue, south of Northern Avenue, with the help of a police dog. The arrest was made within 30 minutes of the shooting, Santiago said.
This is an updated version of a story originally published Nov. 20, 2023.
