Nineteen-year-old Xavier Henriquez was shot and killed in broad daylight on Monday, February 15, 2021, in a west Phoenix neighborhood near Interstate 10 and 67th Avenue. Officers found Henriquez severely wounded after a reported afternoon shooting; he was taken to a hospital in extremely critical condition and later died from his injuries.

Neighbors were questioned and one next-door resident, 71-year-old Manuel De La Cruz-Rodriguez, initially told investigators he saw two people on bicycles approach Henriquez, heard gunshots, and watched the cyclists flee. Detectives later said evidence contradicted that account and pointed to De La Cruz-Rodriguez as the shooter. Police arrested him and he was booked into the Maricopa County Jail on a charge of second-degree murder; no motive had been announced and the investigation remained ongoing.

Henriquez’s family described him as calm, outgoing, and good-hearted. He was a boyfriend and the father of his partner’s child and had been planning a future that included getting an apartment and a car. Does anyone who knew Xavier or who was in that neighborhood on February 15, 2021 have information that could help investigators?