Joanne Smith was sitting on her front porch near 24th Street and Roeser Road on February 2, 2025, when gunfire from a passing vehicle cut her down in front of her own home. The 72-year-old died in her son's arms, and a year and a half later, no arrests have been made in a case her family says still haunts them.
Smith's son, Thomas Smith, heard the gunshots that evening and rushed outside. As reported by ABC15 Arizona, he recalled the moment his mother collapsed. “She collapsed in our arms and we tried to get her to the hospital,” he said. Police officers arriving at the scene near 24th Street and Roeser Road found Smith shot, according to police, and pronounced her a homicide victim under an active investigation that detectives say remains open.
Thomas Smith told the outlet that the family wants answers and continues praying for a break in the case. Official Phoenix Police Department incident records list the shooting's time and location with more precision, placing it at approximately 5:36 p.m. outside a residence at 2200 East Mobile Lane near 22nd Street, under Incident #2025-167758, according to the Phoenix Police Department.
A Neighborhood Fixture for Four Decades
Community members and family described Smith as the “neighborhood granny” — a 40-year fixture in her South Phoenix neighborhood who frequently opened her home to teenagers with nowhere else to go, according to FOX 10 Phoenix. Loved ones held a community gathering in the days after her death calling for public help identifying her killer. Days later, on February 4, 2025, Smith's son, Thomas Smith III, launched a GoFundMe campaign that ultimately raised $4,500 from 61 donors to cover funeral and memorial expenses. The fundraiser noted that Smith had been sitting outside with family and friends when she was shot.
Silent Witness Steps In as Trust Remains a Barrier
Investigators are welcoming community tips, and people can reach out to Silent Witness about this case or others, per the ABC15 report. Johnny Martinez, executive director of Silent Witness, said the work is close to home for him because he has lived through similar experiences. He explained that many residents are hesitant to come forward. “People are scared to talk because of mistrust and concerns about credibility,” Martinez said, per the same account. He added that Silent Witness protects the anonymity of anyone who submits a call, or an online or mobile tip.
Silent Witness, an independent nonprofit dedicated to helping solve cases, offers standard cash rewards of up to $2,000 for anonymous tips leading to an arrest or indictment in homicide cases across the Phoenix metropolitan area, funded entirely through private donations and grants rather than tax dollars, according to Silent Witness. Since its founding in 1979, the organization has helped clear more than 13,000 felony cases and assisted law enforcement in making over 8,200 arrests. Tips can be submitted by phone at 480-WITNESS (480-948-6377), or for Spanish speakers, at 480-TESTIGO (480-837-8446).
A Pattern of Unanswered Gun Violence Near Roeser Road
The Roeser Road corridor has seen this kind of violence before. In February 2013, 14th Way resident Sandra Johnson was killed by gunshots fired into her home from a passing vehicle, prompting county prosecutors to double the reward for tips in that case, according to the Maricopa County Attorney's Office. More than a decade later, Smith's killing shows that drive-by shootings continue to devastate the same residential pockets, even as citywide numbers tell a different story.
Phoenix homicides dropped roughly 28% to 32% in 2024 from a 2022 peak of 223, falling to somewhere between 139 and 151 recorded homicides that year, per Omnilert. Yet during the first half of 2025, Phoenix still recorded 0.55 homicides per 100,000 residents — twice New York City's rate of 0.27 per 100,000 over the same period — despite an 11% local year-over-year drop, according to the Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting.
Compounding the challenge, the Phoenix Police Department entered 2026 short more than 500 officers against an authorized strength of roughly 3,125, contributing to average emergency response times of six to nine minutes for priority calls, per Omnilert's reporting. The department also began transitioning its crime data reporting to the FBI's National Incident-Based Reporting System in September 2025, fully replacing its legacy reporting system by January 2026, according to the City of Phoenix.
For now, Smith's case remains one of several open South Phoenix homicides where investigators are leaning on tips from the public. Hoodline has previously reported on a triple shooting in the same part of the city, and on a separate case where a Phoenix family recently offered a reward for information on a decades-old killing. As Thomas Smith continues to wait for word on his mother's case, he says the family's answer for now is to keep praying — and keep hoping someone finally comes forward.
