Youth deaths by gunshot ready for review

The cases of two children who fatally shot themselves in separate incidents in December have been forwarded to the Clark County district attorney’s office for review, a Las Vegas police official said Thursday.

On Dec. 13, a 10-year-old boy and a 13-year-old girl shot themselves at different times and in separate homes in the Las Vegas Valley while adults were nearby.

Lisa Teele, supervisor for the Metropolitan Police Department’s Abuse and Neglect Detail, said the crux of each case is that the children shouldn’t have had access to the weapons.

“The children obtained unsecured weapons,” Teele said. “We’re really emphasizing here as caretakers and parents that we have a responsibility in securing firearms to keep our children safe.”

Teele wouldn’t say whether police recommended charges against adults in either case, but she said the adults involved could face felony child endangerment charges.

No one from the district attorney’s office could be reached for comment Thursday.

Also Thursday, the Clark County coroner’s office determined that the 13-year-old, Marina Momcheva, died from a gunshot wound to the head in a suicide. She died Dec. 18. Marina was an eighth-grader at Bailey Middle School.

Police said she shot herself the night of Dec. 13 at a home in the 2100 block of Dragon Claw Lane, near Lake Mead and Hollywood boulevards.

Earlier that day, 10-year-old Kameron Asgari shot himself after finding a weapon at a home in the 5800 block of Ponderosa Way, near Russell Road and Jones Boulevard.

The Jydstrup Elementary School fifth-grader shot himself about 2:45 p.m. Police investigated his shooting as either an accident or suicide.

The coroner’s office hasn’t yet determined whether the death was an accident or suicide.

Child shooting deaths tied to unsecured weapons is not uncommon in Southern Nevada.

In December, 37-year-old Sidney J. Jacobs was charged with one count of child abuse and neglect with substantial bodily harm in the Sept. 25 death of 6-year-old Robert Martin IV.

The boy was fatally shot by his 11-year-old uncle at Jacobs’ Henderson home.

The older boy told police he found the 9 mm handgun in a cardboard box labeled “treasure chest” and thought it was a toy.

He pointed it at his nephew and pulled the trigger, expecting confetti to shoot from the barrel, according to a police report.

Jacobs and his girlfriend were in an upstairs bedroom drinking vodka and listening to music while the two boys played downstairs in a room filled with toys, police said.

Jacobs faces a preliminary hearing in Henderson on Feb. 16.

Last month’s deaths of Marina and Kameron drew communitywide concern, especially with the possibility that the children killed themselves.

Linda Flatt, a suicide prevention trainer with Nevada’s Office of Suicide Prevention, said last month there are many suicide warning signs that people need to be aware of.

She said people who express hopelessness, emotions of feeling trapped, or who talk about killing themselves are at risk for suicide.

She said other warning signs include risky behavior, withdrawing from family and friends, and dramatic mood changes.

She said children who commit suicide are not able to grasp the consequences of their act.

“Young people don’t really have the cognitive ability to understand the finality of what they’re doing,” Flatt said.

Review-Journal reporter Francis McCabe contributed to this report. Contact reporter Antonio Planas at aplanas@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4638.