2 arrested in December homeless shooting
A man and a woman were arrested Thursday on suspicion of the Dec. 1 “cold-blooded” shooting deaths of two homeless people and wounding of three others in east Las Vegas.
Cristobal Omar Perez, 31, and Kylee Au Young, 21, were taken into custody by law enforcement Thursday, Metropolitan Police Department homicide Lt. Jason Johansson said at a news briefing Thursday night.
He said police are working to identify another suspect in the case.
Omar Perez, identified as the gunman, and Young are facing charges of murder and battery with a deadly weapon, he said.
Johansson said police believe the shooting was planned in advance by the pair on the evening of Dec. 1 and that Omar Perez was dropped off in a neighborhood to the north of the murder scene and then waited for a black SUV to pick him up nearby on Sandhill Road.
“Once that vehicle parked on Sandhill, Cristobal walked towards where our victims were and immediately began shooting indiscriminately at them in cold blood as they were in their encampment,” he said.
“He then fled across the street in his getaway vehicle and drove to the area of 1700 Palm, which is just up the road from there, where his girlfriend Kylee was waiting in another getaway vehicle for him,” Johansson said.
The two then drove away to their residences in northwest Las Vegas, he said.
Police believe that the assault was the result of a dispute involving a relative of Omar Perez, who lived in an area north of the camp, at East Charleston Boulevard and North Honolulu Street.
Timothy Bratton, 57, was killed by a gunshot wound to the chest, according to the Clark County coroner’s office.
The coroner’s office Friday identified the second person killed as 38-year-old Ashley Burnell. Burnell died from a gunshot wound to the head at University Medical Center on Dec. 8.
Surveillance footage shows the shooter running past a business and entering the passenger side of a dark-colored SUV, police said.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
A previous version of this story misspelled Ashley Burnell’s last name and Kylee Au Young’s last name.
Contact Jeff Burbank at jburbank@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0382. Follow him @JeffBurbank2 on X. Contact Marvin Clemons at mclemons@reviewjournal.com and follow on X at @VegasMarvRJ.
