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Mesa, Arizona – A White mother of three was found dead from multiple gunshots at a bus stop. For the crime, police arrested a 44-year-old “unhoused” Hispanic man who they say had been panhandling at the time.
At approximately 7:30 AM on October 8, police responded to a call concerning a man armed with an AK-47 and a woman soaked in blood in the 1900 block of North Center Street.
Upon arrival, authorities discovered 55-year-old Michelle Flippin unconscious on the ground. Flippin—who is White—would be declared dead at the scene from gunshot wounds shortly after.
The suspect, Andrew Carlos Rada, was reportedly pulled over by law enforcement and arrested for the shooting roughly a half mile away.
According to 13 News out of Tucson, Arizona, Rada had told police that he was in the midst of panhandling at a nearby gas station when he observed Flippin “menacing a crowd with a pistol.” In response, Rada then readied and fired his AK-47 assault rifle, claiming to have shot Flippin “12-15 times until she went down.”
Despite these claims, investigators did not discover a firearm in Flippin’s possession.
What police did discover was 38 shell casings at the scene, much higher than Rada’s claim of “12-15” shots fired. Surveillance video would show that Flippin had been shot while alone and while facing away from her alleged killer.
Rada has since been charged with first-degree murder and remains in police custody. A bail amount has not been specified. Despite Rada being a visibly non-White Hispanic, Police have booked him as a “White male.”
A GoFundMe has been set up to assist Flippin’s family during these times. At the time of press, it has raised only $11,143 of its intended $10,000 goal.
“(Michelle) was the victim of an awful man’s hateful crime. I wanted to set up this go fund me for her kids Tara, Ashleigh and Scotty who will have to put her to rest,” read the fundraiser. “No child should have to bury their mother but due to a man’s senseless act, they are put in a difficult situation.”
Prior to her killing at the hands of an alleged Hispanic panhandler, Flippin was said to have battled with self-esteem issues. According to those who knew her, she will be remembered as an “amazing woman” and humble “caregiver.” who would give you “the shirt off her back.”
Mesa is considered a large city within Central Arizona, with a projected population of over 511,000. The U.S. Census Bureau reports that approximately 60.3% of residents identify as White, while Hispanics make up about 27.3% and Black residents account for 4.6%. However, the complexity of racial identity is highlighted by the fact that 11.8% of the population identifies as mixed-race, implying an overlap.
According to the FBI Crime Data Explorer, the homicide rate in Mesa, AZ, is just under six homicides per capita. Though nearly identical to the national homicide rate, it is currently unclear which communities may be more responsible than others for the violence.
Mesa Police have reported 99 victims and 133 homicide arrests from 2019-2023. Of those offenders, it is impossible to determine who was White alone or Hispanic. When evaluating suspects by “race,” White Americans comprise 61.7% of the total, and Blacks are 24%, with the remainder being American Indians or an unknown race.
Any insights drawn from Mesa PD’s racial data are undermined by their ethnicity data, which classifies suspects simply as Hispanic, non-Hispanic, or of unknown/unspecified race. With these categories at 60.2%, 31.6%, and 8.2%, respectively, basic arithmetic implies that some individuals, like Rada, may be misclassified.
Although this data gap isn’t unique to Mesa PD, anomalies in the data tend to appear in areas where large numbers of Hispanics gather, often correlating with increased reports of violence.
For instance, a comparison of census data and UCR reports for the state of Arizona shows that White Arizonans—who make up 53% of the population—have accounted for 61% of homicide arrests statewide since 2019, placing them among the most homicidal groups of ‘Whites’ in the nation.
As a result, there is still no reliable method to accurately determine how much of the state’s homicides are committed by Arizona’s 31% Hispanic community.
According to the White-Papers Policy Institute (WPPI), efforts to “Americanize” Hispanic citizens—and non-citizens alike—appears to have little effect on attitudes, as less than 14% consider themselves truly “American.”
Consequently, homicide continues to demonstrate itself as a severe problem for Hispanics. From 2019-2020, The Marshall Project determined that urban Hispanic communities in America saw a homicide rate of around 12 per 100,000, a figure nearly three times that of their White urban counterparts.
In cities like Philadelphia, that number has reached the high sixties.
While Hispanic crime data remains obscure, it can be certain, at a minimum, that White Americans in proximity to Hispanics are increasingly at risk for homicide.
In May of this year, a pair of White Mormon missionaries were killed in Fresno, California, after police say a drunk driver smashed into their vehicle at a red light. For the crime, police arrested a drunk Hispanic man with six prior DUI convictions.
On Valentine’s Day in 2023, a Texas-based White grandmother of two was believed to have been maliciously targeted, carjacked, and murdered by two teenagers with “medium complexions” in Houston, Texas. The following month, police tracked down and arrested a Hispanic 17-year-old for his alleged role in the gruesome murder in the parking lot of the victim’s apartment complex.
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