HollyMatkinScottsdale, AZ – An off-duty Tempe Fire Medical Department (TFMD) medical captain was fatally shot in the head on Sunday morning, following a confrontation with a man who ran into a golf cart that the captain was riding in, police said.
Captain Kyle Brayer, 34, was killed during an incident unfolded at the intersection of Stetson and Civic Center Plaza, KPNX reported.
Police said they received a call of the shooting at approximately 2:30 a.m.
Capt. Brayer had been riding on the back of a golf cart with several other individuals, when a red Scion pulled up behind them and began following them very closely, police said.
When the driver of the Scion began bumping into the cart, Capt. Brayer jumped off and confronted him.
The driver, who was later identified as 21-year-old Herzon Parks, shot the captain in the head and fled the scene, hitting several other vehicles in the process, CBS News reported.
Brayer was transported to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
“Kyle was an exceptional young man,” Tempe Fire Chief Greg Ruiz told FOX News. “He was very caring and passionate about his work and the Tempe community.”
Parks turned himself in to police at approximately 6 p.m., after he saw reports about the incident on local news broadcasts, investigators said.
He was charged with second degree murder, and appeared before the court just after 5 a.m. on Monday, KPNX reported.
Prosecutors said that the court granted their request for a $300,000 cash-only bond, because Parks has connections outside of the U.S. and could be a potential flight risk.
Capt. Brayer, a ten-year veteran of the TFMD, was also a U.S. Marine veteran, the Glendale Firefighters said in a Facebook post on Sunday.
“He was taken from us too soon by a senseless act of random violence,” the post read. “Kyle’s family, friends and the Tempe Fire Medical Department will be in our thoughts and prayer[s]. God Speed Brother Brayer.”
“The City of Tempe lost one of our own today to an act of senseless violence,” Tempe Mayor Mark Mitchell echoed in a separate post. “Fire Captain Kyle Brayer was a valued member of our Fire Medical Rescue Team and my thoughts go out to his family, friends and fellow firefighters.”
Parks’ preliminary hearing was scheduled for Feb. 14.