LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — A Las Vegas man shot and killed his mother Wednesday morning and would go on to kill at least one other person in a series of armed carjackings that left bullets strewn through the streets of the southwest valley.
Police say the man was ultimately found dead in a stolen vehicle in the area of Durango Drive and Agate Street. That was after he was shot at multiple times by law enforcement officers trying to stop him.
The incident began with multiple people calling police at 3:46 a.m. to report a barrage of gunfire in the area of Placid Street and Maulding Avenue.
Officers would learn that the suspect had shot and killed his mother, according to homicide Lt. Jason Johansson.
Johansson says the man's parents, hearing the gunshots, initially drove to the wash area and got there before police arrived. After they got out of their truck, police said the suspect shot and killed his mom.
Officers responding to reports of the shooting would find the suspect standing near a white pickup truck.
"Shortly thereafter is when officers were shot at," Johansson said.
That kicked off a chaotic police chase as the suspect stole an unoccupied patrol car and fled west toward Durango Drive, where the series of armed carjackings began.
At least one other person would be killed before the man could be stopped.
Capt. Joshua Martinez of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department's Office of Internal Oversight and Constitutional Policing laid out a timeline of what happened next.
He says officers initially pursued the man to the 7300 block of Durango Drive, near Warm Springs Road. There, Martinez says the suspect carjacked a citizen and continued fleeing police in a stolen truck.
Police chased him to the area of Durango Drive and Blue Diamond Road, where Martinez says he used a firearm to carjack another citizen.
A Las Vegas police officer "noticed the firearm and the threat to the citizen" and fired their service weapon at the suspect, Martinez said.
The suspect drove off again in the SUV he'd carjacked, pursued by police to the area of Durango Drive and Windmill Lane. That's where police say he "exited the SUV and pointed a firearm at a citizen in a van."
"A shot was heard, and officers observed the suspect removing the injured citizen from the van," police stated.
As the suspect fled again, Metro police officers and Nevada State Police troopers fired their weapons at the vehicle, Martinez said.
Officers requested medical attention for the injured citizen, who was later pronounced dead at the scene.
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Police would keep pursuit of the vehicle, ending up near Durango Drive and Agate Avenue, where Martinez said the stolen vehicle became disabled.
At that point, the suspect was in the vehicle alone and was refusing to cooperate with police commands, Martinez said. SWAT officers were called to the area and determined "there was no movement in the vehicle."
Martinez says the officers approached the car and determined, with the assistance of medical personnel, that the suspect had died.
"He was taken into custody at that time, and there was no further incidents involving the suspect," Martinez said. "Once he was taken into custody, we were able to determine no officers were injured at this time."
Las Vegas police officers and Nevada State Police troopers fired their weapons through the course of the chase, Martinez said. The names of the officers involved are expected to be released within 48 hours. A representative of the sheriff's office is expected to share additional information about the investigation within 72 hours.
Martinez stressed that the information he shared Wednesday morning was preliminary. He urged anyone who witnessed the morning's events to call LVMPD's dispatch at 702-828-3111.
