PHOENIX — A rude comment allegedly exchanged between customers of a Valley smoke shop ended in one of them dying of a gunshot wound, court records show.
Alvin Massenburg, 33, was taken into custody on April 17 for a fatal shooting reported at a business near 83rd Avenue and Lower Buckeye Road.
VERSIÓN EN ESPAÑOL: Un hombre fue asesinado a balazos después de una discusión en la fila de una tienda en el valle
On April 15, police officers were dispatched to a business and found a man on the floor with a gunshot wound. A bullet shell casing and knife were found on the floor. The deceased person was identified as 38-year-old Daniel Kemp, police said.
Kemp's wife told police the shooting occurred during skirmish in the shop's checkout line, court records show.
The witness told police she was having trouble making a purchase and another customer in line allegedly made a rude comment that angered her husband.
A confrontation ensued and the suspect allegedly struck the man's head and then shot him. Surveillance footage and the suspect's credit card information helped investigators to identify Massenburg as the suspect.
The suspect could be facing a charge of second-degree murder.
Police said anyone with additional information about the incident is asked to contact 480-WITNESS.
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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
- Goodyear
- Buckeye
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.
