Woman fatally shot 10 times inside Glendale gas station, police say

GLENDALE, Ariz. - No arrests have been made after a woman was shot to death inside a Glendale gas station on the evening of Friday, April 21.

The shooting happened at a Chevron near 51st Avenue and Glendale just after 9 p.m., police said.

Investigators say the woman had just walked inside the convenience store when an unknown man wearing a black mask came in and shot her 10 times with a handgun.

The victim, who police identified as 25-year-old Irma Rivera-Martinez, died from her injuries. Police confirmed she worked at the gas station.

The man left before police arrived. He is described as a heavy-set man who was dressed in all black.

If you have any information, you're asked to call police at 623-930-3000 or Silent Witness at 480-WITNESS or 480-TESTIGO for Spanish.

‘Broke my heart’

"The longer she worked here, the longer we got to know each other," a friend said.

Another friend says he’s still too afraid to show his face or give his name, but says he comes to the gas station daily.

"I realized she was the only one in there," he said. After seeing the red and blue lights, crime scene tape and police officers, his heart sank.

"It broke my heart to find out what happened," he said.

He came to know Irma, who worked inside, as a friend.

"Every time I needed an extra hand, she would always help out here," he said.

A lot of details about the shooting are still unknown. Police didn’t say if any items inside were taken, or share any kind of motive.

Inside the store Saturday, flowers were near the cash register alongside burning candles in her memory.

"It’s not shocking, and that’s the sad part about it. It’s not shocking. It happens all the time," said a customer named Skip.

He’s disgusted and disturbed by the killing, telling her family that they’re in his prayers.

"We got to do better, you know what I mean? Man, that’s sad," Skip said. "It’s happening a lot now and it’s sad. For a person to be at work and can’t make an honest living without being in danger."

"Every time I come to the store, she's always a happy person, a beautiful person," a customer said.

He said he was the last one to talk to her, before her life was taken from her.

"The day that I came here, I talked to her. I said, ‘are you OK?’ And she said, yes, and I knew she wasn't OK. So she went around the corner, and she was texting, and I say, 'are you OK? She said yes and that's the last time I see her. Then I find out that she got killed," the customer said.

A vigil was held over the weekend by family and friends to remember Irma and adoring sentiments were spoken.

"I don't understand why somebody would do that to her, take her life away like that because she would give heart to you.

"We love her, we love her, we love her. I'll tell you, we love her. She did everything for anybody."

"We need justice, that's what we need, that's all we need. She doesn't deserve this, none of us do."

Where the shooting happened: