In the early hours of April 2, 2025, a shooting at a Scottsdale, Arizona, apartment complex resulted in the death of 30-year-old Gino Mendoza. Police and fire crews were dispatched to the residence near Granite Reef Road and McDonald Drive around 12:25 a.m. after a 911 call was made by a man at the scene reporting the incident. Upon arrival, officers discovered Mendoza with multiple gunshot wounds.
Emergency medical aid was rendered at the scene before he was transported to a local hospital, where he ultimately succumbed to his injuries.
The man who placed the 911 call, identified as 25-year-old Jude Valle, remained at the apartment and was detained by responding officers. Valle claimed that he had shot Mendoza in self-defense. Despite this assertion, Scottsdale police arrested him. He was later booked into the Scottsdale Municipal Jail on one count of second-degree murder.
Detectives and crime scene personnel, along with representatives from the Maricopa County Attorney's Office, responded to the apartment to conduct a thorough investigation. They spent the morning collecting evidence, documenting the scene, and interviewing all parties involved. The official cause of death for Gino Mendoza is pending a determination by the Maricopa County Medical Examiner. The investigation into the circumstances surrounding the shooting remains ongoing.
