The Phoenix community is in mourning and a state of shock following a deadly construction-site shooting that left one man dead and another critically injured, and now the search for the suspect is intensifying. According to a report obtained by FOX 10 Phoenix, the incident occurred on September 1st when two workers were attacked while working on a fence near 39th Street and Thomas Road. The violence resulted in the death of Alan David Whitworth, aged 48, and serious injuries to 19-year-old Jamal Avery who remains hospitalized fighting for his life.
Alan Whitworth, who recently began a new electrical business and got engaged, was reportedly attempting to mentor Jamal, someone he hired after the younger man had lost his job and who was also the only supporter in his family, Mariah Avery, Whitworth's fiancé and Jamal's cousin, said "he's everyone's hero; he's my hero he's his daughter's hero and that's exactly what he did, he saved Jamal's life, and I'm super thankful for him" according to FOX 10 Phoenix. Whitworth was tragically killed after what his fiancé described as a minor altercation with the suspect, who left the scene only to return with a gun.
The family's tragedy was compounded by the violence occurring in broad daylight, as Mariah Avery expressed incredulity and grief in a statement given to ABC 15, saying, "He was working, it was 8 a.m. on a Sunday. Who does that?" Jamal Avery, a father of a young boy and with another child on the way, was shot in the chest and cheek, his mother Lyzbeth Bandera relayed the horrific news about her son who's been in and out surgery ever since.
As Silent Witness is offering a $2,000 reward for information leading to an arrest authorities and the families are urging the public to help in the search for the individual responsible for the shooting and the Phoenix police have been ramping up efforts to find the suspect with no arrests made more than a week after the incident, Mariah Avery told ABC 15 "It would mean everything to be able to look at the person and see them get justice". A GoFundMe page has also been established to support Jamal Avery and his family in their time of need.
