CHANDLER, AZ — Police are investigating a deadly shooting at an Amazon Flex facility in Chandler.
The incident occurred Wednesday morning around 9:30 a.m. near Queen Creek and McQueen roads.
Chandler police say the incident started when a man identified by police as 29-year-old Jacob Murphy opened fire on an Amazon employee striking him multiple times.
A second Amazon employee then opened fire on Murphy. Murphy was pronounced dead at the scene. It's unknown if the third person involved killed Murphy or if he took his own life, police said.
The Amazon employee who was shot is hospitalized in critical condition but is expected to survive.
As part of the investigation, police determined the incident was not a targeted effort on the Amazon delivery station, and at no time was this an active shooter situation.
Detectives believe personal issues between the three men, unrelated to Amazon, led to the shooting.
Amazon and the third man, who shot Murphy, are cooperating with police. Chandler PD says the third man, who showed up to protect the Amazon worker who was shot, is not being considered a suspect at this time.
Workers on scene tell me they were told to go home. We’re still waiting to get more information about what happened. @abc15 https://t.co/vLTfBl0QSH pic.twitter.com/2oInjtcnMS
— Elenee Dao (@Elenee_Dao) December 14, 2022
Video from the scene showed a crime scene in the facility's parking lot with the investigation centered around a vehicle.
A spokesperson for Amazon released the following statement:
"We're deeply saddened by this senseless act of violence in our parking lot. We're working closely with law enforcement as they investigate and are focused on supporting our team during this difficult time."
Bryton Bobbitt, a contracted Amazon worker, told us he was getting ready for a normal workday when the shooting occurred.
“All of a sudden, just hear pop, pop, pop. [I] start looking around, like where did that come from? A few of our other workers started running,” Bobbitt said. “I was already in my work van, I put it in gear and tried to find a safe place and got out of here and ended at the Circle K across the street.”
Dayton Shelor, another contracted employee, said he was trying to go to work when he found out about the shooting. He was told to go home. He tells ABC15 he was shocked to find out what happened.
“Honestly, I’ve got kids at home. A lot of people have kids at home. It’s a stressful situation to know, maybe, you know, if anything, it could’ve been me any earlier,” he said.
