Man shot, killed after confronting line-cutter at QuikTrip convenience store, police say

PHOENIX (KPHO/Gray News) - A man is dead after attempting to confront another man about cutting the bathroom line at a Phoenix-area gas station.

Danny Kaster, 52, died after he was shot on Jan. 16. The suspected shooter, Deondre Franklin, 25, was taken into custody.

Authorities said the shooting occurred just before 8 a.m. at a QuikTrip store at 44th Street and Oak Street. Police arrived and found Kaster lying on the floor outside the men’s bathroom. He was rushed to the hospital, where he later died.

According to court documents, Kaster was shot multiple times in the face, shoulder and leg.

A witness said he was inside the bathroom, waiting in line for a stall, when the confrontation occurred.

Court documents stated the witness reported seeing Kaster get into the bathroom line, only to have Franklin bypass it and pull on the door handles.

Kaster told Franklin there was a line, and Franklin reportedly responded, “He knew that.”

However, the interaction grew hostile when Franklin asked Kaster, “What the [expletive] are you looking at?”

According to court documents, the two men began arguing in the bathroom when Franklin told Kaster they should “take it outside.” Both walked out, and moments later, a witness who was still in the bathroom heard gunshots coming from outside the men’s room door.

Another witness told authorities that he was waiting for his wife when he saw Franklin holding a gun and Kaster attempting to grab the gun. The witness heard two or three more gunshots and attempted to help Kaster once he realized he was injured.

Several witnesses saw Franklin leave the store, get into a gray sedan with a woman and leave the scene.

Court documents detailed surveillance video that reportedly showed Franklin pointing a gun at Kaster and firing multiple times, causing him to collapse. Franklin then ran out of the gas station.

After the shooting, police said Franklin called his mother and stepfather, telling them that he got into an argument and “shot someone inside the QuikTrip.” His mother told him to turn himself in, and Franklin surrendered to police the next day.

In an interview with detectives, Franklin said he was homeless and went into the gas station to use the bathroom. He said he didn’t see there was a line for the stalls and was going to the back of the line once Kaster told him.

However, Franklin said he noticed Kaster “was staring at him” as he was walking and claimed Kaster “became hostile,” according to court paperwork.

Franklin said he saw another man standing next to Kaster and was afraid “he might get beaten up.”

As he walked out of the bathroom, Franklin claimed he saw Kaster following him and fired twice “to defend himself.” He reportedly said he was “scared and didn’t know what to do,” so he left the scene.

Family members set up a memorial for Kaster outside the QuikTrip, remembering him as a brother, dog lover, friend and uncle.

“He left for work on Friday, never coming back in because he told somebody, ‘Hey, there’s the end of the line,’” Kaster’s sister, Delca, said. “It’s a nightmare. We haven’t been able to process it or understand that he’s never coming home.”

A family friend started a GoFundMe to help cover Kaster’s funeral expenses.

Franklin was booked on one count of second-degree murder.