A 20-year-old Arizona man has been taken into custody by police, following a series of fatal shootings that started in Phoenix and concluded in Mesa on Saturday.
On Sunday morning, local law enforcement announced that Iren Byers, aged 20, had been apprehended. He’s been charged with multiple counts of first-degree murder as well as attempted murder.
Preliminary evidence has pointed towards Byers’ involvement in a Phoenix-based homicide that took place on Friday afternoon, preceding the murders in Mesa, according to the authorities.
The string of shootings in Mesa commenced on the night of May 26 and extended into the early hours of May 27, leaving three individuals dead and another critically injured.
As of Sunday night, the Mesa police released the identities of the victims and the locales of the shootings in the city. The deceased individuals were identified as Julian Cox, Stephen Young, and John Swain, while the injured person was revealed to be Angela Fonseca.
Investigators identified Byers as a key suspect, holding him accountable for the series of shootings, as stated in a police press release.
Surveillance footage from a variety of sources, including light rail, a convenience store, and a residential camera, played a pivotal role in the investigation. Byers was identified in all of these recordings, consistently matching eyewitness descriptions.
Byers was apprehended near an address in Mesa and initially taken into custody on a misdemeanor trespassing charge. However, during questioning, he reportedly cooperated with Mesa and Phoenix law enforcement and confessed to all five shootings.
Byers also directed officers to the clothing he had worn and the firearm he had utilized during the series of crimes. These items were subsequently recovered from Byers’ residence after the execution of a search warrant.
Currently, Byers is being held without the option of posting bail.