2 women killed in North Las Vegas shooting
Two women were fatally shot Tuesday morning in a North Las Vegas neighborhood about a mile away from where a man killed three women before being shot to death by police a week earlier, according to police.
Gunshots were fired about 6:40 a.m. in the 2000 block of North McCarran Street, near Lake Mead Boulevard and Civic Center Driver, North Las Vegas police wrote in a news release.
Police said officers who found the women reported the two had died at the scene from “apparent gunshot wounds.”
Police did not release any information about a possible shooter, although they described the shooting as a double homicide.
The Clark County coroner’s office Wednesday identified one of the women killed as 24-year-old Odaly Lopez-Diaz.
“This investigation is still in the preliminary stages; however, detectives believe this was an isolated incident,” police said.
A portion of McCarran Street remained blocked off late Tuesday morning as officers worked the scene.
Sara Higgins lives on the street with her husband and their two children, ages 6 and 11. The couple has lived there about a decade, she added.
She told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that her husband heard a barrage of gunfire; “just repetitive fire.”
“It’s crazy,” she said. “The neighborhood has been a little wild lately.”
She described their house being struck by gunshots from a nearby drive-by shooting about two years ago.
“We didn’t think anything of it, because we hear random gunshots all the time,” Higgins said.
It wasn’t until an investigator knocked on their door asking about their surveillance cameras that they realized police were investigating a more serious incident, Higgins said.
While the Higgins’ didn’t know the residents at the house where the two women were shot, she described the street as a tight-knit band of neighbors.
“Honestly I love it here. I love my neighbors,” she said.
North Las Vegas spokespeople have not responded to messages seeking comment on behalf of the City Council.
Previous triple killing
Tuesday’s shooting took place a week after a man fatally shot three women and a dog before North Las Vegas police officers shot and killed him at an apartment complex at 2215 East Nelson Avenue.
Police said Monday that 43-year-old Edward Brooks was shot after he refused to drop a handgun he was carrying when confronted by officers Kenneth Townsley and Kevin Calderon. He would have been booked on three counts of murder had he survived, police said.
After the police shooting, officers found Africa Woods-McGill, 52, Venus Hart, 48, and Tiffany Mawhorter, 42, dead in two apartments, along with an unharmed child and the dog’s remains, police said.
Body-camera footage showed Townsley shouting at Brooks — who was slowly walking toward officers at the complex’s courtyard — to “Drop the gun, man!” and “Drop the damn gun!”
Detectives, who continued investigating a possible motive, said Brooks knew one of the victims and had been staying at one of the apartments, police said.
In 2018, Brooks was arrested on suspicion of murder for a year 2000 killing in San Diego, North Las Vegas police said.
California media reported that Brooks had been accused of beating an elderly man to death with a bat. According to Fox 5 San Diego, two criminal trials ended in hung juries and that a judge dismissed the murder charge against Brooks.
Hart’s family started a GoFundMe campaign to raise money for funeral services.
Annalissa King described her mother as a wonderful parent and a “doting grandmother.”
“My mother, affectionately known as Bella Bleu, was a pillar of love, kindness, and generosity in our community,” King wrote on the crowdfunding site. “She was always there to offer support and guidance to those in need, and her loss has left a significant void in our lives. She will be deeply missed by all who knew her.”
King said that her mother was visiting the two other victims when she was shot, and that her 1-year-old granddaughter was with her during the shooting.
Anyone with additional information was encouraged to call police at 702-633-9111. To remain anonymous, contact 702-385-5555 or crimestoppersofnv.com.
Review-Journal reporters Brett Clarkson and David Wilson contributed to this story. Contact Ricardo Torres-Cortez at rtorres@reviewjournal.com.
