A late-night dispute at a Phoenix Jack in the Box ended in deadly gunfire on December 8, 2022. Nineteen-year-old employee Jorge Valenzuela Ramirez was working the drive-thru near 18th Avenue and Bell Road when an argument involving Ramirez and a 22-year-old female co-worker and another man escalated. The man fired multiple shots into the restaurant shortly before 10:30 p.m., striking both employees.

Both victims were taken to a nearby hospital; Ramirez died of his injuries and the woman survived with serious but non-life-threatening wounds. The shooter fled the scene, and homicide detectives opened an investigation. A man identified as 29-year-old Christopher Candia later contacted police and surrendered; he was arrested and booked on several charges, including murder, in connection with Ramirez’s death. The specific circumstances that led to the shooting remain under investigation.

Did anyone working or driving through that Jack in the Box on December 8 see what sparked the confrontation?