Man killed in Las Vegas road rage shooting was visiting mom

Jeffrey Boyajian loved the New England Patriots and going to concerts. Most of all, he loved his mother.

In fact, on Aug. 5, the day the California man was shot and killed in a road rage incident on Interstate 15 in south Las Vegas, he was headed to his mother’s home to celebrate his birthday with her, according to his cousin, Lucy Vanecek.

But before he could reach his mom’s home that night, Boyajian was shot after a white van pulled up to the driver’s side of his Chrysler 300 near the Silverado Ranch Boulevard exit. Multiple rounds were pumped into the victim’s chest, according to the Clark County coroner’s office. He died one day shy of his 59th birthday.

“She is just heartbroken. The whole family is devastated by this loss, and we hope that police find the person or people who did this,” Vanecek said in a phone interview with the Review-Journal.

Las Vegas police suspect the shooting occurred between 7:30 and 7:40 p.m. Seven minutes before that window, Boyajian had just checked into Las Vegas on Facebook.

Police also have said that a woman was sitting in Boyajian’s front passenger seat during the shooting but was unharmed. Vanecek said the two had been seeing each other, although their exact relationship was not immediately clear to his extended family.

Boyajian was born in Massachusetts but grew up in Las Vegas, according to Vanecek. He had recently moved to Lake Elsinore, California, and was set to start a new job the Monday following his birthday weekend, said Vanecek, who also has created a GoFundMe campaign to help raise money for funeral costs.

An only child, most of Boyajian’s extended family lives on the East Coast, but Vanecek said all the cousins remained close while growing up.

But Vanecek, expressing some guilt, said Tuesday she couldn’t remember the last time she had spoken to her cousin, although she keeps in close contact with his mother.

“Unfortunately, we always assume that we have another day,” she said.

Through Vanecek, Boyajian’s mother, whom she said is in her 80s and lives in the valley, declined to speak to the newspaper.

“She is just really devastated,” she said of her aunt.

Meanwhile, jail and court records show, the case remained unsolved as of Tuesday.

Days after the shooting, Metropolitan Police Department homicide Lt. Ray Spencer released a video pleading with the public for any information or video from vehicles also driving along I-15 toward Las Vegas that night.

“If you’re willing to share your video, it may solve a murder,” Spencer said in the video.

In the meantime, according to Vanecek, Boyajian’s family will continue “hoping and praying” that the case is soon solved.

“I’m hoping somebody comes forward with information,” she said. “That’s the least he deserves — justice.”

Anyone with information may contact the Metropolitan Police Department’s homicide section at 702-828-3521 or Crime Stoppers at 702-385-5555 to remain anonymous.

Contact Rio Lacanlale at rlacanlale@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0381. Follow @riolacanlale on Twitter.