Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Two children wounded in North Las Vegas shooting

Two children were wounded in a North Las Vegas house early Saturday morning when a gunman pulled up to the property and opened fire from the outside, according to city police. 

The shooting was captured on surveillance video.

Both victims, a 9-year-old girl and a 15-year-old boy, were expected to recover at University Medical Center, North Las Vegas Police said this afternoon. The house was apparently targeted.

Officers responded about 2 a.m. to the 3600 block of Hamlin Place, near Vegas Drive and Gowan Road, police said.

At least three people arrived to the neighborhood in a white four-door sedan, police said. A driver stayed behind while two men got out.

The pair approached the house, and after they looked around for a few seconds, one of them pulled out a handgun and fired multiple times into the property, which was occupied by multiple adults and children, police said.

The girl was struck multiple times while the teenager suffered one gunshot wound, police said. 

"Investigators do not believe this was a random act of violence, and that the victims and suspects are possibly known to each other, police wrote in a news release. "As of now, detectives believe the people inside the house were targeted."

Police described the shooter as a tall and thin man; possibly Hispanic. He wore his hair pulled back in a pony tail.  The car was possibly a Dodge Dart. 

This wasn't the first time this month detectives were investigating a similar shooting in which a child is wounded by bullets fired into a house.

Angelina Erives, 11, died on Nov. 1 in a gang-related shooting that targeted the wrong house in the 6700 block of Courtney Michelle Street, police said. 

In that shooting, three shooters exited a car and sprayed the two-story house with gunfire, police said. A family of five was in the kitchen working on a science project when bullets flew in. Angelina, the only victim struck, died at UMC. 

A nearby neighbor, fearing for his safety, opened fire on the fleeing car, striking one of the suspects, a 19-year-old man, in the head, police said. 

The getaway driver, 17, and two of the three alleged shooters have since been arrested. The group had apparently  confused the house for one they were targeting in some sort of retaliation for another shooting. 

Anyone with information on either shooting is asked to call North Las Vegas Police at 702-633-9111. To remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers at 702-385-5555 or crimestoppersofnv.com.