Man arrested in shooting death of Henderson teen

Henderson police on Thursday arrested a 44-year-old man on suspicion of murder after the man said he returned fire toward two 17-year-olds who were shooting at his home, killing one of the teenagers.

Officers were called about 12:50 a.m. to the 1600 block of Sunset Road, near Arroyo Grande Boulevard, after reports of gunfire. They found two 17-year-olds at the rear of a commercial property on Sunset.

One teenager was not harmed; the other was dead with an apparent gunshot wound, according to a statement from the Henderson Police Department.

Police arrested Edward Croaker on suspicion of murder, police said.

Croaker previously had called police to report two males shooting at the rear of his home on the 1600 block of Meadow Bluffs, near the commercial property where police found the two teenagers. Croaker said he grabbed his gun and shot back, “believing he had struck one of the subjects,” police said.

Detectives who spoke to the teenager determined that both boys had been “discharging a firearm,” police said. The gun found at the scene had been reported stolen to the Metropolitan Police Department.

Croaker remained at the Henderson Detention Center on Thursday afternoon with bail set at $150,000, jail records show.

Police said that “charges are pending” for the surviving teenager, who was not identified in Thursday’s statement.

The name of the teen who died will be released by the Clark County coroner’s office after his family has been notified.

Police said further information about the shooting would not be released due to the open investigation.

The teen’s death marked the 12th homicide investigated by Henderson police this year, according to records maintained by the Review-Journal.

Anyone with information about the shooting can contact police at 702-267-4911, or leave an anonymous tip with Crime Stoppers at 702-385-5555.

Contact Katelyn Newberg at knewberg@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0240. Follow @k_newberg on Twitter.