On the evening of August 19, 2021, the life of 20-year-old Tamar D. McAfee, a Black male, was tragically cut short in a hotel room in Buckeye, Arizona. The events unfolded at the My Place Hotel on Watson Road, where police were dispatched around 7 p.m. following a 911 hang-up call and subsequent reports of a shooting. Upon their arrival, a responding officer encountered a man, later identified as 44-year-old Wayland Deron McAfee, the victim's father.
Wayland McAfee, who was in a
wheelchair, was attempting to leave the hotel room as the officer approached. He was not compliant with the officer's commands and tried to leave the scene. A struggle ensued, during which the officer discovered that McAfee was armed with a handgun. The officer successfully disarmed McAfee, but the confrontation escalated as McAfee then attempted to grab the officer's duty handgun while being handcuffed. In an attempt to subdue him, the officer deployed a taser, but it was not effective. With the help of additional officers who had arrived, Wayland McAfee was taken into custody.
Once the suspect was secured, officers entered the hotel room and found Tamar D. McAfee on the floor with multiple gunshot wounds. Emergency personnel from the Buckeye Fire Department and Buckeye Valley Fire Department responded to the scene and transported Tamar to a nearby hospital, where he was ultimately pronounced deceased.
Following the incident, Wayland McAfee was arrested and booked into the Maricopa County Intake and Release facility. He faces a number of serious charges, including second-degree murder, aggravated assault on an officer, and possession of a weapon by a prohibited person. Court records indicated that he had a prior conviction for aggravated assault. The case highlights a violent and fatal confrontation between a father and his son.
