Early morning shooting leaves 15-year-old boy dead in Guadalupe

GUADALUPE, AZ (3TV/CBS 5) — A 15-year-old boy is dead after an early morning shooting in Guadalupe on Monday.

According to Sgt. Calbert Gillett, with the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office, deputies responded to the area of Avenida del Yaqui and Calle Magdalena after someone reported hearing gunshots just before 1 a.m. When they arrived, they found a teen who had been shot. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Family identified the teen as 15-year-old Elias Longeria.

“Why did they have to shoot him? Why’d they have to take him from me, from his little brother and sister? From my family, why did you guys have to hurt us?” said Longeria’s mother, Blanca.

Family says a fight led to the shooting. “They did this over a kid, over a fight that the kid started first with him,” said Blanca. “Whoever did this to my son, I hope they do get caught and get payback for what they did.”

Sgt. Hector Encinas with Tempe police says the teen was a student at Marcos De Niza High School. “We do have those kids from that town that are grieving and hurting from that incident, that homicide, that terrible scene that occurred,” said Encinas.

After the shooting, police say they received several threats toward the school, but the claims were untrue. Officers surrounded the school and say police will be patrolling the area for the next few days. “I do know the victim of that case did attend here [De Niza], and it might have some ties going into some students or the nearby area. I don’t have ton of background on that yet, but it does have something to do with this general area and the school,” said Encinas.

No information has been released about potential suspects. The investigation is ongoing.

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