Esteban Valenzuela was a 16-year-old sophomore at Student Choice High School in Maricopa, Arizona, described by family as a protector with big dreams of becoming a barber. On the evening of November 22, 2024, just before 7:15 p.m., he was found wounded on the sidewalk on West Dirk Street near Dancer Lane in the Maricopa Meadows community and was taken to a hospital, where he died. An autopsy found a single gunshot wound to the chest that struck his heart and other vital organs.

Investigators determined the shooting occurred during a planned armed robbery targeting another 16-year-old, Sergio Michael Munoz. Detectives say the robbery involved a group of youths and that a member of that group fired the fatal shot, killing Esteban. Vape boxes were reported scattered at the scene; court records note Esteban had been investigated nine months earlier for an armed assault on his brother. Anyone who knew Esteban or has information about the case is asked to come forward.