17-year-old killed in New Year’s Day shooting near Globe; person of interest sought

GILA COUNTY, Ariz. — A 17-year-old is dead after a shooting just outside Globe on New Year’s Day, and the Gila County Sheriff’s Office is searching for a person of interest who investigators say could help solve the case.

Deputies received a 911 call just after 1 a.m. on Jan. 1 from someone reporting that his friend had been shot near McKinney Avenue, according to Chief Deputy James Lahti.

“Not the way we’d hope to start the new year,” Lahti said.

When deputies and Globe police officers arrived at the scene, they found a juvenile not breathing. The teen was taken to a Valley hospital with life-threatening injuries but later died. His name has not been released.

Neighbors told 12News the gunfire was difficult to distinguish from fireworks being set off around the neighborhood during New Year’s Eve celebrations.

“I thought I heard like a gun being shot, you know, that’s not really good, but I didn’t know if it… Kind of, it sounded like fireworks too,” one neighbor said.

The neighbor said he didn’t realize what had happened until the next day.

“I didn’t realize that he had passed, and I didn’t realize it was fatal. So, yeah, no, it’s definitely a shocker,” he said.

A resident who lives a few houses from the crime scene reviewed his home security cameras and found footage showing two people walking up the street and into an abandoned horse corral just minutes after the shooting was reported.

“Two guys coming up the street on the camera facing down towards the incident, and then, and then they go by my house, and the next camera I see them on, they go up into this corral up here, behind at the end of the street,” the neighbor, identified as Charles, said.

He contacted the sheriff’s office to report what he saw.

Investigators have identified 19-year-old Deshawn Tarango as a person of interest in the case.

“We’re not calling him a suspect yet at this point in time,” Lahti said.

Tarango is described as a Native American male, about 6 feet tall, 175 pounds, with black hair and black eyes.

Deputies believe the shooter may have left the scene on foot and could have been picked up by another person. 

“We just like to talk to [Tarango] find out what transpired, what [he] may be able to shed light on as to what occurred out there,” Lahti said.

The sheriff’s office said the shooting appears to have been an isolated incident. The investigation remains ongoing.

Anyone with information about the shooting or Deshawn Tarango’s whereabouts is asked to contact the Gila County Sheriff’s Office or local law enforcement immediately.

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