Man killed at northeast Spokane McDonald’s was shot over missing cellphone

A 21-year-old man killed early Monday morning in a McDonald’s parking lot in northeast Spokane was shot in the head over a missing cell phone, according to court documents.

Female witnesses told police they were at Crave Bar with victim Christian G. Salazar and accepted drinks from a group of men that included 27-year-old Christian J. Robinson, the man accused of shooting Salazar, according to court documents. When the group of men went elsewhere in the bar, one of the women took at least one cell phone sitting on a table.

The men told police two of their phones were missing and they used a tracking app to follow the women to McDonald’s, court documents say. Robinson drove his own car to confront them with two men as passengers, a witness said.

Salazar and two women were approached by Robinson and two other men while sitting in their car at the McDonald’s on Market Street, court documents say. A witness said one of the men pulled open the driver’s side door where Salazar was sitting and threatened to assault him.

Robinson, from the passenger side door, then pulled out a handgun and shot at Salazar past a woman in the car, according to court documents. A witness said the man on the driver’s side then looked at Robinson and said, “What are you doing? What the hell?”

The woman in the passenger seat got out of the car screaming, saying she was going to call police, court documents say. Another woman called 911 and officers arrived around 1:15 a.m.

Salazar died before reaching the hospital, court documents say. The medical examiner’s office listed his cause of death as a gunshot wound to the head.

Numerous family members of Salazar showed up at Robinson’s first appearance in Spokane County District Court Tuesday. Robinson was charged with second-degree murder and is jailed on a $750,000 bond, according to Spokane County Jail records.

Salazar “was full of life,” his mother, Teressa Calahan, said outside court Tuesday. “He was my light. He was a good kid.”

A GoFundMe has been created to help Salazar’s family with funeral costs.

Calahan said Salazar had started working with his father to build houses and rent them out. She said Salazar dreamed of starting his own construction business. “That was his goal,” she said.