Draft:2020 Westgate Entertainment District shooting
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On May 20, 2020, a misogynist terrorist attack took place at the Westgate Entertainment District, a mixed-use development in Glendale, Arizona. Armando Hernandez Jr., livestreamed himself shooting and injuring three people at the Westgate Entertainment District. He then surrendered to responding police officers.[1][2]
c.7:25 p.m. (UTC−07:00)
| 2020 Westgate Entertainment District shooting | |
|---|---|
| Location | Westgate Entertainment District, Glendale, Arizona |
| Date | May 20, 2020 c.7:25 p.m. (UTC−07:00) |
| Target | Couples |
Attack type | Livestreamed shooting |
| Weapon | Black AR-15–style rifle |
| Deaths | 0 |
| Injured | 3 |
| Perpetrator | Armando Hernandez Jr. |
| Motive | |
| Charges | 16 |
| Verdict | Guilty |
| Sentence | 44 years in prison |
Shooting
Prior to the shooting Hernandez had surveyed the Westgate Entertainment District and then returned to his car to arm himself with a black AR-15–style rifle and loaded it with three rifle magazines to capacity.[3]
Hernandez, now armed with a black AR-15–style rifle, proceeded to shoot and injure two people in front of a restaurant, then fired additional shots, and then shot a third person in a parking lot. He then dropped his AR-15 rifle after it malfunctioned and surrendered to responding Glendale Police Department officers in the parking lot.[3][4][1][2] Hernandez filmed the attack with a cellphone in his left hand while shooting with his right.[5][4] During the shooting, a women went into labour.[4]
The victims were a 19-year-old man who was critically wounded, a 16-year-old girl who was taken to the hospital with a non-life-threatening condition and a 30-year-old woman who did not require hospitalization.[5]
Perpetrator
The gunman was identified as Armando Hernandez Jr.[6], a 20-year-old man from Peoria. After his arrest, he was taken to a Maricopa County, Arizona, jail and charged with 16 felonies.[7] In July 2022, he was sentenced to 44 years in prison.[8]
Hernandez claimed that he identified as an incel. He stated in his police interview that he wanted respect for himself and he was deliberately targeting couples because he felt bullied.[3][9][10]
In popular culture
The shooting was the subject of an episode of Dark Side, a true crime documentary series produced by KPNX (Channel 12), titled Dark Side: The Westgate Shooting.[4]