Accident – Death – Obituary News :

Rifle Stolen from Las Vegas Gun Show Used in Deadly Shooting Rampage

By Rio Yamat
Associated Press

LAS VEGAS — A rifle that was stolen from a gun show in Las Vegas became one of the weapons used in a tragic shooting incident that left three people dead. The incident occurred two days after Christmas, when a man shot and killed his mother in the desert near his childhood home. This act of violence triggered a high-speed police chase as the suspect carjacked bystanders and fired at officers.

The suspect, identified as 36-year-old Justin Davidson, had a lengthy criminal history dating back to 2009, including previous arrests on drug and weapons charges. Davidson was armed with a stolen AR rifle and an AK-47-style rifle with an obliterated serial number. He was also wearing camouflage clothing and a tactical vest at the time of the rampage.

The rampage began in the early hours of Wednesday, when officers were called to investigate reports of gunfire coming from the desert near Davidson’s childhood home in southeastern Las Vegas. Davidson’s parents, who were woken up by the gunshots, went to the area to look for him. However, it is still unclear why they immediately went to that specific location upon hearing the gunfire.

Upon the arrival of the officers, Davidson opened fire on his parents, resulting in the death of his mother, Liza Leveille-Davidson. He then proceeded to fire at the officers, forcing them to seek cover. Davidson shot out the windows of a police cruiser before fleeing towards the southwestern edge of the city.

During the pursuit, Davidson carjacked bystanders at gunpoint at two different gas stations, as captured by security footage played during a news conference. A Las Vegas police officer fired nine rounds at Davidson during the first carjacking, hitting him at least once. The chase continued, and Nevada State Police troopers joined in the pursuit.

While evading the officers, the suspect encountered a white van and shot the driver multiple times. Shockingly, the suspect then pushed the motionless body of the victim out of the van and ran him over as he fled the scene. The victim was identified as 39-year-old Gerardo “Jerry” Lopez-Martinez, a father of seven who had just left for work as a driver for a medical linen supply company.

With Davidson now behind the wheel of Lopez-Martinez’s van, officers fired 53 rounds at the vehicle, hitting the suspect multiple times. The van eventually came to a stop, and SWAT officers approached to discover that the suspect was already dead. Had Davidson survived, he would have faced multiple charges, including two counts of murder, assault on a police officer, grand larceny, and unlawful possession of a firearm.

During the investigation, detectives searched the desert area where the suspect had initially fired shots. They found loaded magazines of various calibers scattered across multiple locations. It remains unknown whether these magazines were left behind during the police chase or if the suspect had been hiding them in the desert prior to the incident.

Clark County Assistant Sheriff Yasenia Yatomi held a news conference and presented evidence collected by investigators, which suggests that the suspect may have been planning a large-scale attack. The evidence includes a notebook with a hand-drawn diagram depicting a potential ambush situation, a stockpile of items that could be used to build firearm silencers and explosive devices, additional firearms, loaded magazines, and documents outlining law enforcement responses to mass casualty incidents.

Yatomi emphasized that although the evidence is abundant, many questions remain unanswered. It is unclear why the suspect started shooting and whether he was attempting to build an improvised explosive device with the materials found in his homes.

As the investigation continues, Yatomi revealed that there are more locations yet to be searched. She concluded the news conference by stating, “We’ve painted a picture and shown you evidence of a story that should be very disturbing.”

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