Disclaimer: This article has mentions of shooting and violence.
What started as a small frustration, a temporary internet outage, ended in deadly violence inside a Phoenix home on Sunday evening. Authorities say a 31-year-old man fatally shot his stepfather after a heated argument over the family’s Wi-Fi spiraled out of control.
According to Phoenix police, officers were dispatched around 7:30 p.m. to a residence near 39th and Maryland avenues after they got a 911 call from Brandon Alvarez. He told dispatchers that he had just shot his stepfather, Jaunarius Moreno. When officers arrived, they found Moreno, 57, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds inside the home. Despite lifesaving efforts, he was pronounced dead at the scene.
Police say the deadly encounter took place over a dispute that started earlier in the day when the home’s internet connection was accidentally cut off during the installation of a new service. A criminal complaint obtained by local CBS affiliate KPHO detailed how the outage quickly became the spark for a shocking incident.
Family members reportedly knew Alvarez could become angry if the internet went down, so they contacted Moreno, who wasn’t home at the time, to come and handle the issue. But when Moreno arrived, tensions only grew worse.
According to the complaint, Moreno expressed frustration that Alvarez, his wife, and their two young children were using the household’s internet “for free.” The conversation soon escalated, and Moreno went to the backyard with a flashlight, hoping to inspect the connection himself.
That’s where he encountered his stepson, who was sitting by a small wood fire. Investigators say Moreno dropped his flashlight and began walking toward Alvarez “with nothing in his hands in an aggressive manner.” Police allege that Alvarez then pulled out a firearm and opened fire. It struck Moreno four times. Alvarez later told officers he was afraid his stepfather would try to attack him or take the gun away.
After the shooting, Alvarez reportedly went inside to check on his children, who were in the house at the time. He then left the weapon in a bedroom and called 911 to report what had happened. When first responders arrived, Moreno was unarmed. Detectives later confirmed he posed no immediate threat at the time he was shot.
Alvarez was taken into custody without further incident and booked into the Maricopa County Jail. He now faces a charge of second-degree murder.
Neighbors told police they were stunned to learn what had happened. The block is usually quiet and family-oriented. It had never seen that level of violence before. “It’s heartbreaking,” one neighbor told reporters. “You just don’t expect something like this to happen over something as small as the internet going out.”
A family has been shattered. A father figure gone, and a son facing the rest of his life defined by a single, devastating decision.
