In the quiet Glenrose neighborhood on Spokane's South Hill, the evening of September 24, 2025, was shattered by the sound of rapid gunfire. When police arrived at the 4200 block of East 34th Avenue near Chase Middle School around 8:45 p.m., they discovered a grim scene. Twenty-year-old Hispanic male, Emilio Vazquez, was found deceased in the passenger seat of a Dodge Journey, a victim of multiple gunshot wounds.
The driver of the vehicle, 37-year-old Terrance Wallette, was also found dead at the scene from similar injuries. A third man, identified as Shelby Martin, was discovered with a life-threatening gunshot wound to the chest and rushed to the hospital. The Spokane County Medical Examiner later ruled both Vazquez's and Wallette's deaths as homicides.
Investigators soon pieced together a narrative of a volatile confrontation rooted in a complex and troubled history. The shooting occurred at the home of a 32-year-old woman who was married to Shelby Martin. She also had a long and tumultuous past with Terrance Wallette, with whom she shared a child. Years prior, Wallette had been imprisoned for unlawfully imprisoning the same woman when she was a teenager. Despite this history, they had reconnected and were involved in a romantic relationship. On the night of the shooting, an intoxicated Wallette had reportedly driven to the home with Emilio Vazquez in the passenger seat, intending to confront Martin.
The verbal dispute quickly escalated into a shootout in the driveway of the residence. A 16-year-old inside the house captured the violent exchange on a cell phone video. In the footage, Wallette's voice could be heard yelling "shoot him," followed by an exchange of gunfire. The video reportedly shows Shelby Martin firing his weapon multiple times.
In the immediate aftermath, Spokane police assured the public that there was no broader threat to the community, stating that all individuals involved had been accounted for. They indicated that the violence was the result of a dispute between people who knew each other. While the investigation by the Major Crimes Unit is ongoing, authorities had not announced any arrests in the days following the incident. The case has been characterized by law enforcement as a complex situation with elements of a love triangle that ended in a fatal exchange of gunfire.
