7 Feb 29th–March 6th, 2024 phoenixnewtimes.com PHOENIX NEW TIMES | NEWS | FEATURE | FOOD & DRINK | ARTS & CULTURE | MUSIC | CONCERTS | CANNABIS | ‘Path of Destruction’ Wannabe serial killer Raad Almansoori arrested at Scottsdale Fashion Square. BY STEPHEN LEMONS P olice chiefs from several law enforcement agencies in the Valley spent Feb. 21 explaining how aspiring serial killer Raad Almansoori was caught following two stabbing incidents over the weekend, including an attack on a young woman at a McDonald’s. Police said Almansoori, 26, planned to continue his rampage at Scottsdale Fashion Square, where Scottsdale police officers located and arrested him in a parking deck at the mall. Surprise police Chief Benny Piña said during a press conference that Almansoori confessed to a stabbing on Sunday in Surprise as well as another stabbing on Saturday in Phoenix. In both cases, the victims survived. According to Piña, Almansoori also confessed to the high-profile murder of a woman in a New York City hotel on Feb. 8. “During his interview, Almansoori told us that he had intended to find and harm more individuals in our community,” Piña said. The arrest “without a doubt” stopped Almansoori from continuing his “path of destruction,” Piña added. Police said Almansoori stabbed an 18-year-old woman multiple times in the women’s restroom of a McDonald’s at 15525 W. Greenway Road in Surprise. He then fled to a residential area where he allegedly stole a vehicle. Surprise police collaborated with other agencies to locate Almansoori by tracing the location of the vehicle’s license plate, Piña said. Scottsdale police Chief Jeff Walther explained that the license plate number was fed into a database of photos from automated license plate readers in Scottsdale. Police tracked the stolen vehicle to Scottsdale Fashion Square, where they found Almansoori in a parking garage. “I think Chief Piña hit that nail on the head when he talked about that this gentleman was going to continue this string of violence, but he was going to do so there at Scottsdale Fashion Square,” Walther said. Walther added that his officers found Almansoori “backed into a spot, we believe, looking for another victim.” Police arrested Almansoori at gunpoint. Almansoori has been charged with armed robbery, attempted murder, aggra- vated assault and theft. Court records state that he is “a danger to other persons or the community” and is being held without bail. ‘He has full intent on killing others’ Court records for the two stabbings offered details of Almansoori’s random acts of extreme violence. The incident on Saturday in Phoenix occurred near a Starbucks at 19th and Glendale avenues, according to a probable cause state- ment on file with the Maricopa County Superior Court. The female victim was a shift supervisor at the coffee shop. She took a 10-minute break and was sitting in her parked vehicle when Almansoori allegedly opened the front driver’s side door and pointed a gun at her face. Almansoori told the victim that he was “going to kill and shoot her.” He lowered the handgun, took out a knife and began stabbing her. The victim “sustained stab wounds/lacerations to her left neck, temple, ear and left hand.” Her attacker then walked away. Surveillance cameras captured the incident. The victim was later treated at a local hospital. After his arrest, Almansoori told Surprise detectives that he stabbed the woman to keep her from screaming. He said he was planning on taking her car and raping her. Almansoori said he was “looking for someone who was attractive” and alone and that he was “trying to kill and have sex with her.” The probable cause state- ment for the Sunday attack in Surprise said that surveil- lance footage from McDonald’s showed Almansoori eating within eyesight of the women’s bath- room. The victim, an employee of the restaurant, went into the bathroom, and Almansoori followed her. The woman had locked herself inside a stall when Almansoori ALMANSOORI TOLD SURPRISE DETECTIVES THAT HE STABBED THE WOMAN TO KEEP HER FROM SCREAMING. Police tracked Raad Almansoori to a parking deck at Scottsdale Fashion Square, where they said he planned to continue his crime spree. (Photo courtesy of the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office) | NEWS | Airport Inequities Faith leaders call out racial disparities in pay for Sky Harbor workers. BY TJ L’HEUREUX P ublic pressure is mounting on the city of Phoenix to address complaints against the company it uses to manage concessions at Sky Harbor International Airport as workers raise concerns about racial inequities in pay, discriminatory discipline and unsanitary conditions. Religious leaders sent a letter to Phoenix City Council on Feb. 15 asking for officials to investigate allegations of racial disparities by airport contractor SSP America. The letter, signed by a diverse coali- tion of 31 clergy members from across the Valley, was received by Vice Mayor Yassamin Ansari during a press confer- ence across the street from Phoenix City Hall. Workers and labor organizers from the Unite Here Local 11 joined the reli- gious leaders at the media event. “The issue is simple: We are asking our council people, we’re asking our mayor, we’re asking the city of Phoenix to look at SSP,” said Bishop Anthony Holt, president of the West Valley branch of the NAACP. The union alleges that SSP America employed 124 servers and bartenders at Sky Harbor, yet no bartenders and only eight servers were Black, according to August 2023 employment data provided to the union. African American workers constitute 33% of the nonmanagerial workforce, according to the union. Servers and bartenders are among the highest-paying positions for workers at the airport, according to Rachele Smith, the union’s spokesperson. “On average, Black SSP workers make $16,841.31 less per year than white workers, while Latino workers make on average $13,742.54 less than white workers,” the letter reads. “These disparities have a dramatic human impact not just on the workers affected but on our whole community.” The employment data provided to the union also shows that the average weekly earnings for people working more than 30 hours are $1,190 for white workers, $926 for Latino workers and $867 for Black workers. Workers at Sky Harbor have detailed how low wages at the airport make it tough to survive financially as housing costs in Phoenix continue to rise. The letter to the city council comes after Unite Here Local 11, which >> p 9 >> p 10
