Scott Kikes, a 36-year-old White man from Phoenix, was killed late on the night of November 28, 2025, after a confrontation between motorcyclists near the I-17 Freeway and 7th Avenue turned sudden and violent.
According to Phoenix police, the sequence began at a traffic light, where two motorcycle riders were stopped close enough to trade words and move within arm’s reach.
In the confusion at the intersection, one rider pulled a gun and fired, leaving Kikes with multiple gunshot wounds as the other motorcyclist became the focus of panic and motion all at once.
A nearby driver, seeing the shooting unfold, drove into the suspected shooter, a split-second decision that turned the scene into a layered tragedy of gunfire and collision. Police said the driver was detained for questioning that night and later released while investigators worked to piece together exactly what happened and what led up to the shooting in the first place.
As the case spread through the city, investigators publicly acknowledged the challenge of sorting truth from rumor, including questions about circulating cellphone footage and talk of biker-gang involvement that witnesses and tipsters raised in the days that followed. One witness told a local station she was just feet away when the gunshot was fired and described the aftermath as surreal, while police continued weighing whether any charges would ultimately be filed related to the vehicle strike.
Weeks later, Phoenix police announced arrests tied to the case: Nicholas Sheehan was taken into custody, and Michael Shane Zavala was arrested out of state and held for extradition back to Arizona. Police did not publicly detail how the two were allegedly involved, but an online booking record for Sheehan listed charges including first-degree murder, aggravated robbery, and a street-gang-related allegation, along with a $1 million bond.
