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Police Charge Man In Five Arizona Shootings, Four Of Them Fatal

An Arizona man has been charged with five shootings, four of them fatal. Shootings in Mesa, Ariz., left three people dead and one injured, reports Scripps News. Officials said the man is connected to a fifth shooting in Phoenix, when a man died on Friday. Iren Byers, 22, is in custody and facing four counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder. Byers was seen in security footage in Phoenix; an apparent gunshot is heard. When police arrived, they found 41-year-old Nicholas Arnstad dead. Byers identified himself in the footage and told investigators he shot Arnstad because he was "abusing fentanyl, which he did not like since [Byers'] brother abused the drug too."


The second shooting happened Friday evening in Mesa. Surveillance video showed a man entering a park, and a single gunshot is heard. Officers found the body of Julian Cox, 41. Byers reportedly shot Cox because he was talking about "blues," referring to fentanyl. Around midnight on Saturday, officers found a third victim. Byers told investigators he met 41-year-old Stephen Young at a Circle K. Byers told Young he wanted to smoke weed, but after Young said he wanted to smoke "blues," Byers shot him. Angela Fonseca, 36, was then found with at least one gunshot wound. She is expected to survive. The last victim, identified as 40-year-old John Swain, was found with apparent gunshot wounds. Swain told Byers he was homeless. Byers allegedly then shot him multiple times.

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A daily report co-sponsored by Arizona State University, Criminal Justice Journalists, and the National Criminal Justice Association

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