Police are actively searching for a man who waited for a woman to return home from her Las Vegas neighborhood so that he could murder her.
According to Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Lt. Jason Johansson, surveillance footage captured the moment the assailant approached the woman and shot her while she stood in her front yard.
“We see a male who is dressed in all black clothing who is parked across the street who then approaches her and some kind of altercation appears to happen in front of the house and then he returns to the car after the shots are filed,” Johansson told 8 News Now.
The shooting took place shortly before 9:00am, police say, adding that they believe there was a motive behind the killing.
“It does not appear this is random,” Johansson said.
He added that he and investigators on the case are pleading with anyone with any information to contact the police immediately. “If anybody around 9:07 a.m. saw any car, right now we don’t have a color, we’re confirming the make and model right now, but a sedan driving erratically around 9:07 a.m. out in this area there are only so many ways out of this neighborhood.”
Shortly after the shooting, the woman, who has not been identified, was rushed to a local hospital where she succumbed to gunshot wounds. She was pronounced dead and has yet to be released by the coroner.
The woman’s murder comes just months after Las Vegas authorities released figures stating that the murder rate had decreased in 2022.
According to the Las Vegas Police Department, there were 146 murders compared to 158 the year prior, a decrease of 7.6%. “2022 also saw 22 justifiable homicides, while the year prior saw 23, a decrease of 4.3%. Of the murders in 2022, there are 21 cases still listed as open. 2021 was a year that saw a 49 percent increase in homicides from 2020.”
