North Las Vegas police investigating homicide of 19-year-old woman

The North Las Vegas Police Department is launching a homicide investigation after a 19-year-old woman died Friday night in a shooting, police said Saturday.

North Las Vegas police were dispatched just after 9 p.m. to the area of Simmons Street and Gowan Road on a report of a missing person, police said in a statement.

Officers found a woman who had sustained an apparent gunshot wound and medical personnel pronounced her dead at the scene, according to the statement.

The victim’s family had reported her missing around 7 p.m. Friday and her cellphone was tracked to a park in the 3700 block of Simmons Street, police said. Family members found the victim inside her van in the parking lot.

Police haven’t released the name of the suspect, but “do believe the victim and suspect were known to each other,” according to the statement.

The Clark County coroner’s office will release the victim’s name and cause and manner of death after notification of the victim’s family.

Anyone who has information about the case is encouraged to call the North Las Vegas Police Department at 702-633-9111 or anonymously to Crime Stoppers at 702-385-5555.

Contact Julie Wootton-Greener at jgreener@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2921. Follow @julieswootton on Twitter.