Bryan Washington

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (3TV/CBS 5) – Authorities in Scottsdale arrested a man in connection to a deadly shooting that happened early Friday morning at a convenience store.

Scottsdale triple shooting

The incident, which happened at about 2:40 a.m. at the Circle K near 81st Street and Indian School Road, just east of Hayden Road, left two men dead and a third wounded in the hospital. 

Police say 38-year-old Robert Blackwater went into the Circle K and demanded money from the clerk. Blackwater fired a few rounds from his gun and the clerk was able to flee the business out the back door uninjured.

At the same time, two men pulled into the parking lot of the store. The passenger in the car, later identified as 35-year-old Joseph Toki, entered the store. The second man stayed in the car.

When Toki got into the doors he shot and killed by Blackwater, who was trying to leave. When he got outside, Blackwater noticed the man waiting in the car Toki had arrived in and began firing shots at him. That man was able to return fire from his own gun, hitting Blackwater. He died from his injuries.

Investigators determined that there was a second man waiting in a car for Blackwater when the robbery attempt occurred. Police say 32-year-old Bryan Christopher Lee Washington ran from the scene just after the shooting. He was arrested later in the day and is facing first degree murder and armed robbery charges.

Detectives say Blackwater had committed two other armed robberies earlier in the night. He hit the Circle K at the Loop 101 and Shea Boulevard at about 11:45 p.m., police said. The other robbery was at 2:15 a.m. at a Mesa Circle K. Police say Blackwater fired his gun in both incidents, but nobody was hurt.

The investigation is still underway. 






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