‘Road rage’ killing believed to be gang-related, sheriff says

A road rage shooting early Monday that left one man dead is believed to have been a “gang-type” shooting, Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo told the Review-Journal on Thursday.

“We believe this was a gang-type shooting, this road rage incident,” he said. “We have witnesses saying they were flashing gang signs back and forth prior to the shooting.”

Thirty-two percent of all metro homicides are associated with gang activity, Lombardo said, adding that it’s a priority for the Metropolitan Police Department. Police had previously said road rage, which has claimed at least three lives in Las Vegas this year, was a factor in Monday’s shooting.

Gunfire rang out at 2:20 a.m. as two cars were traveling side by side on the the 215 Beltway near the McCarran Airport connector, killing a man behind the wheel of one vehicle and leaving a female passenger critically injured, Metro Lt. David Valenta told reporters on Monday.

The man was later identified by the Clark County coroner’s office as Glen Anthony Card, 27, of Las Vegas. A woman who was also struck by gunfire was taken to University Medical Center in “critical but stable” condition, police said.

Police were still searching for answers on Wednesday when Valenta urged anyone with information to come forward in a video posted to Metro’s Twitter page.

“We are asking drivers who may have seen what led up to the shooting, or have a dash cam and were driving on that stretch of road during the hours of 2:15 a.m. to 2:25 a.m. to call the LVMPD homicide section,” he said.

The last confirmed gang-related slaying, according to records maintained by the Review-Journal, occurred on May 5, apparently in retaliation killing for another homicide on April 30.

Christopher Najera, who was charged with murder on June 21, was arrested in connection with the death of 25-year-old Tyreon Jackson, who was shot and killed while walking home on the 3500 block of East Lake Mead Boulevard, near Pecos Road. According to Najera’s arrest report, he was involved a gunfight between two groups on April 30 that left Najera injured and his friend, 17-year-old Noel Carbajal, dead.

Jackson was shot in retaliation for the shooting that killed Carbajal, police said. Ryk Mosley, 28, of North Las Vegas, was arrested May 28 in connection with Carbajal’s death.

There were at least three gang-related killings prior to that this year, with the first one on New Year’s Eve, according to the records.

“Social media has been a significant influence in gang activity, especially in retaliation,” Lombardo said in August. “As a result of people speaking ill of other people, and it’s caused a significant number of people responding to that.”

Contact Jonah Dylan at jdylan@reviewjournal.com. Follow @TheJonahDylan on Twitter.