Hassayampa River 'anarchy': Residents want MCSO to crack down on illegal ATV racing, shootings

MARICOPA COUNTY, Ariz. - Residents are fed up with what they call chaos at the Hassayampa River bottom in Maricopa County.

They say illegal ATV racing, wild parties, rampant alcohol use, and shootings have plagued the area near Old US 80 and Salome Highway. Neighbors want the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office to step up enforcement. 

Generations of farmers and ranchers have come through these lands, surrounding the Hassayampa River bottom. This is an unincorporated community in Maricopa County, a rural area 45 minutes outside downtown Phoenix.

What they're saying:

These days, peace is hard to come by.

"We were sitting right here the other day in my front yard and watching the bullets land across the street in the field," said Brandon Shelton, a cattle rancher who lives about 400 yards from the river bottom, where he says heavy gunfire is unleashed. "When we hear these guns, they’re high-powered fully automatic weapons."

Shelton has stacked bales of hay outside his daughter's bedroom window, ready for stray bullets.

"I can sleep a little better at night knowing that that’s there, but at the same time, while I was doing it, I was so mad," he said.

When asked what the closest a bullet had come to his home, Shelton replied, "Oh, we’ve heard 'em bounce off the tin before." 

One source shared a photo of his damaged security camera, believed to have been hit by a bullet.

The backstory:

Longtime residents like Dustin Johnson say off-highway vehicles (OHVs), specifically ATVs, consistently drive through privately-owned land to get to the river bottom. 

"My mom’s in her late 70s and she’s chasing people off of the farm, and you know they’re spinning donuts at her, shooting rocks at her. There’s no remorse to what they’re doing," Johnson said. "They’ve had full-on drag races directly in front of my house when my kids are playing."

The racing activity often ends up under the Hassayampa Bridge and is documented on social media. TikTok videos highlight common keyword searches like "339 racing" or "339 off road." 

Users show off UTVs lighting up the darkness of night, and posts seemingly act as invitations to what’s described as "the club" off 339th Avenue. Tire tracks left behind show proof of significant recent OHV activity, fresh and circular in pattern.

Shelton has had enough, expressing his frustration at a community meeting on June 7, 2025, where concerns were validated by the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office. A few dozen residents asked MCSO officials how the gunfire and illegal ATV racing would be addressed.

Brandon confronted the deputy chief, asking, "Unloading an AR with beer cans on his tailgate. What do you think he was doing with the AR previously before you guys pulled up?" 

Deputy Chief Phil Doherty responded, "They were not shooting."

Doherty says his staff at MCSO Substation 2 is down 16 deputies, but Buckeye PD is assisting with resources. MCSO confirms extra patrols are happening. 

"We’re not purposely dragging our feet to get out here," Doherty said.

By the numbers:

According to MCSO, calls for service in 2025 from January through May 21 show that "shots fired" calls lead the way with 36, followed by "shooting too close" with 25. Calls for "patrol" were at 16, and "motorized bikes disturbing" only accounted for six. 

Residents say the call numbers would be much higher, but many have given up on calling due to MCSO taking hours to respond.

"If we were to call every time that shots were going off, it would be every weekend – Friday, Saturday, Sunday, all of us, and so the numbers would completely spike," Johnson explained.

FOX 10 patrolled the area with MCSO. 

The other side:

Sgt. Trent Loveless says that on any given weekend night last year, the Hassayampa Riverbeds looked like a massive dirt parking lot filled with off-road vehicles. 

"We used to come down here, and you’d have people shooting along next to the railroad bank next to the bridges," said Loveless. "You’d have people shooting off into the distance there. You’d have ATVs racing in between all those the whole time. You’d have people that would pull in here with fifth-wheel trailers and have barbecues. Just absolute, kind of anarchy."

Loveless confirmed that a good portion of the activity is social media-driven. "We initially, we started the enforcement detail. We started looking at the social media, and we found a lot of pages, a lot of videos."

Despite clear "No Trespassing" signs, within 15 minutes of patrolling, a man was found with his Can-Am ATV stuck uphill. Loveless helped dig it out, and the man was cited for not having an off-highway vehicle plate. This was a less concerning situation than random gunfire.

Loveless recalled, "We had an individual that pulled off the road over there and was firing down into the riverbed while we were down here with a bunch of the officers doing our enforcement patrols." He also encountered a group of young men waiting for a potential party under the bridge.

The area under the bridge is a makeshift venue littered with beer cans and leftover alcohol bottles.

"So basically, they would have the stage pulled up over there, or they would pull into either one of these spots would be pull the trailer in," Loveless explained. "Then everybody pulls up with their side-by-sides, and this whole entire area is just packed with Jeeps, any kind of an off-road vehicle, and you’ll probably get 50 people, 100 people crammed into this particular bridge right here."

This spot is also a source for countless shootings. When asked about the prevalence of ammunition boxes, Loveless said, "Oh, they’re constantly all over here." 

If residents like Brandon are concerned about stray bullets, the safety issues within a crowded party are even greater. 

Loveless confirmed, "One of the other squads had service when somebody got injured. I don’t remember where they got hit, but they had to take them to the hospital."

Weeks later, enforcement seems to be working, but Shelton believes the problem is far from fixed, more so a rash that’s temporarily under control. 

"And until they start citing these people for what they’re doing wrong, they’re trespassing, they’re shooting too close to home, they’re shooting all night long, they’re shooting people, tearing up everything that we work for – nothing’s gonna change," Shelton stated.

What you can do:

If you have a tip for our investigative team, you can email fox10investigates@fox.com.

Map of the area

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