Michael Vasquez, a 38-year-old Hispanic/Latino male from Phoenix, Arizona, was found dead from multiple gunshot wounds in a west Phoenix alley on November 10, 2017. He was discovered in the early afternoon in an alleyway off 35th Avenue in a residential and commercial corridor of the city, with police later indicating that he had suffered numerous gunshot wounds.
Investigators stated that his body was found on a Friday, but evidence and witness accounts suggested he may have been shot the night before, placing the likely time of the attack on the evening of November 9.
Residents living near the alley reported hearing a series of gunshots at around 10:30 p.m. the night before Vasquez was found, but no one was able to provide a clear description of the shooter or any vehicles leaving the scene. When officers arrived the next day and identified the victim, they treated the location as a homicide scene, documenting multiple shell casings and other ballistic evidence consistent with a close-range shooting. Local crime-stopper programs, including Silent Witness, quickly publicized the case, emphasizing that Vasquez had been deliberately killed and asking anyone who might have seen suspicious activity near the alley to come forward. A cash reward of up to $1,000 was offered for information leading to the identification and arrest of whoever was responsible.
Despite the public appeals, police reported no clear motive, and no suspect description was released. Early on, investigators stated that they had no information about why Vasquez was targeted or whether the attack was connected to any dispute, robbery, or gang activity, and subsequent public summaries of the case have continued to describe it as an unsolved homicide. Records compiled by CrimeSolversCentral and other case-tracking sites still list the investigation as open, note that no arrests have been announced, and continue to highlight the same reward and plea for tips from the community as of late 2025.
