Left inset: Heather Arriaga (Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office). Right inset: Stephen Guardino (Messinger Mortuaries). Background: The scene of the shooting in Arizona that left Stephen Guardino dead after Heather Arriaga allegedly opened fire on him from her car (AZ Family).
An Arizona woman blew away a 54-year-old man with a gunshot blast to the neck during a road rage incident, claiming “he got in my face” and spit on her, according to witnesses and cops. She allegedly hopped in her car after the shooting and watched the man bleed out as though she “didn’t care” what happened to him, witnesses say.
Court documents obtained by Law&Crime accuse Heather Arriaga, 24, of killing Stephen Guardino in September 2025 during a road rage dispute in Phoenix.
“It was just a gruesome sight,” Isaiah Cline, a witness, told the local media outlet AZ Family.
“She sat in her car as he was just like dying right there,” another witness, Brody Madrid, added. “Didn’t care.”
Arriaga walked into Phoenix Police headquarters on Monday evening and “self-surrendered” to law enforcement around 6 p.m. after a warrant was put out for her arrest for manslaughter, the documents say.
Witnesses told AZ Family after the shooting that Arriaga and Guardino were stopped at a red light near the intersection of 7th and Missouri Avenues, south of Bethany Home Road, when the attack happened across the street from a Starbucks on Sept. 27, 2025. Arriaga allegedly shot Guardino while sitting in her car.
“They were basically trying to get in each other’s lanes, following each other really close,” said witness Malasia Williams. “He spit on her, and she shot him.”
People who were nearby and saw the scene unfold ran up to try to render aid, according to police and witnesses, while Arriaga allegedly did nothing to help.
“She said, ‘I shot him. I’m sorry. He ran up to my car. I was scared. He got in my face, I shot him,'” witness Isaiah Cline recounted to AZ Family.
“Tried as best as I could [to render aid] and left it in God’s hands,” Madrid said.
An online obituary for Guardino says he was “tragically taken … in a senseless road rage incident.” He was known as “Tata Steve” and had grandkids through his stepsons, according to the obituary.
“Steve will be remembered for his humor, intelligence, creativity, and kindness,” the obituary says. “He will be deeply missed.”
Arriaga is scheduled to be arraigned on April 14.
