On the night of August 15, 2022, 15-year-old Elias Longoria was shot and killed in Guadalupe, Arizona. Elias, a freshman at Marcos De Niza High School in Tempe, was with friends near Calle Batoua and Calle Biehn when a single gunshot was followed by 15 to 20 more rounds; he was struck in the head and pronounced dead at the scene.

According to family accounts, the violence followed a school dispute the week before that involved a comment about a tattoo Elias wore in remembrance of his uncles. The night before the shooting Elias told a friend he felt he was being followed by someone in a black car. Investigators later questioned a 23-year-old man who said he had been in a friend’s front yard, heard shots from the direction of Elias and his group, and fired in return because he feared for his life. He described firing a bronze and black 9mm handgun; a matching weapon was recovered and forensically tied to the shooting.

The suspect was arrested on September 20 and charged with second-degree murder for recklessly firing a gun and causing a death. Does anyone have information about Elias, the school dispute, or the events on August 15 that could help clarify what happened?