In the early morning hours in Phoenix, Arizona, the lives of two men, Charles Hendrix, 56, and Jerry L. Braggs Sr., 64, were brought to a violent and sudden end. The double homicide occurred on Tuesday, October 6, 2026, leaving a community shaken and initiating a swift police investigation that would uncover a tragic family connection to the crime.
The incident unfolded around 4:30 a.m. near a bus stop at 16th and McKinley streets, in a neighborhood just south of Interstate 10.
Multiple people called 911 to report the sound of gunshots. When Phoenix Police Department officers arrived at the scene, they found Mr. Hendrix and Mr. Braggs suffering from fatal gunshot wounds. Emergency fire personnel pronounced both men dead at the scene.
Surveillance video from the area was critical to the investigation, capturing the brutal sequence of events. The footage showed a suspect with the two victims at the bus stop. According to court documents, the suspect, later identified as 23-year-old Taishawn Terry Bailey, fired multiple rounds at one of the men, causing him to fall to the ground. The second victim, in an attempt to escape, ran into the street where he tripped and fell. The video showed the gunman approaching the man as he lay on the ground and shooting him multiple times. Witnesses reported seeing the shooter flee the area, heading west along McKinley Street.
The Phoenix Police Department launched an intensive manhunt. The day after the shooting, investigators used GPS data from Bailey's cell phone to track him to a park near 44th Street and Baseline Road. Officers found him asleep on a playground and took him into custody. At the time of his arrest, Bailey was in possession of a Taurus 9mm handgun with an extended magazine.
During his initial interview with detectives, Bailey gave conflicting stories. He first admitted to being with the two victims for several hours at the bus stop but claimed he had left before the shooting occurred. However, his cell phone records contradicted this, showing he was in the area at the time of the murders and left shortly after. Bailey then changed his account, claiming he acted in self-defense because one of the men had lunged at him with a knife. He stated that after shooting the first man, he "blacked out" and shot the second. Investigators said the surveillance footage did not support his self-defense claim. Ballistics testing later confirmed that the cartridge casings recovered from the crime scene matched the handgun found on Bailey when he was arrested.
During Bailey’s first court appearance, a state prosecutor revealed a devastating detail: one of the victims was Bailey's own grandfather. However, authorities did not publicly specify whether Mr. Hendrix or Mr. Braggs was related to the suspect. Bailey was booked into jail on two counts of first-degree premeditated murder. A judge set his bond at $2 million, cash-only. As of October 2026, the case was proceeding through the court system. Anyone with information about the incident was asked to contact the Phoenix Police Department or Silent Witness.
