An exchange initially orchestrated to sell a ring on OfferUp precipitated an armed confrontation, leaving a neighborhood rattled by gunfire in Mesa, Arizona. The Mesa Police Department reported responding to shots fired near McKellips Road and Stapley Drive on Tuesday evening, where they discovered a 13-year-old with a gunshot wound to his leg, as FOX 10 Phoenix conveyed.
Detained at the scene was 20-year-old Brandon Major, identified as the driver of a vehicle seen departing the area posthaste. Police stated Major and the teenager had met for the transaction of a ring posted on OfferUp, which precipitously devolved into violence when the teen brandished a firearm and robbed Major, as reported by FOX 10 Phoenix.
The exchange of gunfire did not conclude without indiscriminate peril. Several homes were impetuously caught in the fray. Among those was the Castanon residence, detailed by 12 News, where the family of four experienced a ghastly intrusion of bullets. Alfredo Castanon, 13, recounted the harrowing event, recalling how he mistook the initial shots for fireworks before recognizing the gravity as his mother forced him to the ground.
The chilling episode extended to Castanon’s 15-year-old sister, Ariza, who narrowly escaped harm when a bullet punctured her door as she folded laundry. In the distressing aftermath, the siblings clutched each other, waiting for the police. "I just started crying," Ariza told 12 News. "Hugging everybody, knowing that everybody was safe.” Both Major and the teenager have been arrested and face multiple charges, including aggravated assault and unlawful discharge of a firearm.
