Henderson Police Department
Christopher McDonnell
Thursday, Dec. 3, 2020 | 6:11 p.m.
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A man in Henderson Police custody accused in a string of random shootings that killed one and wounded four others early Thanksgiving Day is a felon out of Texas who has been out on parole since August.
Police Chief Thedrick Andres revealed the information in a virtual address to residents informing them that the city is experiencing an uptick of violent crime.
Andres said the random shootings were being investigated by the FBI, Henderson Police, La Paz County Sheriff’s Office, Mohave County Sheriff’s Office and Metro Police.
Shawn McDonnell
Kayleigh Lewis
As of Thursday, Christopher McDonnell, 28, was the only suspect — out of three arrested in rural Arizona following a series of shootings there — in Henderson Police custody. He’s facing counts of murder, attempted murder and shooting into a structure.
Additional details on his criminal history weren’t immediately available. A search of court logs in Tyler, Texas — where he’s reportedly from — came up empty.
In Andres’ address, Henderson Police for the first time acknowledged that there were three suspects connected to the five shootings here. The trio were arrested in Arizona.
Charges against Kayleigh Lewis, 25, and Shawn McDonnell, 32, hadn’t been filed in Henderson as of Thursday, online court logs show.
Lewis was jailed in La Paz County in Arizona. The older McDonnell’s whereabouts were unknown, but La Paz Sheriff William Risen said this week that he was “not free.”
Police allege the trio first drove through Henderson shooting at random, moving cars, missing would-be victims in the first three.
Then they arrived at the 7-Eleven, 870 Lake Mead Parkway, where Christopher McDonnell was seen pulling out a gun and shooting a man in the store and Kevin Mendiola, 22, and his girlfriend in one vehicle, and Mendiola’s brother in another.
Mendiola’s group had stopped to grab a drink as they cruised around Henderson. The fourth victim had gone to the convenience store with his daughter and 1-year-old grandchild.
The woman told police that after Christopher McDonnell shot her father, he knocked on her window and told her, “You’re not going to die.”
The trio escaped, shooting a female motorist in the arm near Lake Las Vegas, before they headed to Arizona, where they continued shooting at people, authorities there said.
Arizona troopers chased their black Toyota Camry and shot Shawn McDonnell after he pointed a gun at one of them after the car rolled over, the Arizona Department of Public Safety said.
A possible motive, if there was one, hadn’t been publicly disclosed.
Andres mentioned “two significant homicides within the last several weeks,” but only gave information on Mendiola’s slaying. He may also have been alluding to the triple slaying Nov. 3 in the 1400 block of Stonelake Cove Avenue.
In that incident, a man kicked in the door to his upstairs neighbors’ apartment and shot two women and a 16-year-old girl. Both Veronica Muniz, 33, of Las Vegas, and Dianne Reem Hawatmeh, 39, died from gunshot wounds.
The killer, Jason Neo Bourne, 38, then kidnapped 12-year-old Joseph Lehab Hawatmeh and called 911, rambling about being a comic book villain and coming from the future.
Both the man and child died in a barrage of gunfire after Bourne shot the boy and seven Henderson Police officers opened fire. Officials on Wednesday said the boy had died from injuries inflicted by Bourne.
A motive also hadn’t been disclosed.
“Both were random incidents in which there were no real indicators for either of those senseless acts of violence,” Andres said. “It is of utmost importance that our citizens know that these terrible and senseless incidents were random acts of violence that could not have been predicted, nor likely prevented by the Henderson Police Department.”
He said Henderson Police was experiencing what other departments across the country were in a year kneecapped by a global pandemic. “Law enforcement have attributed these increases in violent crime to pandemic-related stress in many communities,” Andres said.
Overall crime in Henderson was down 13%, but violent incidents — many involving armed suspects, some of whom have mental health issues — are up, Andres said.
“It is vitally important that if you know someone experiencing mental health challenges, and have indicated or exhibited their propensity to be violent that you seek help by calling your local police department of mental health facilities for guidance,” Andres said.
