5 killed in NLV shooting spree mourned in vigil: ‘May they all rest in peace’ — PHOTOS
People brought flowers, candles and balloons to a solemn vigil at a North Las Vegas apartment complex Wednesday where authorities said a gunman killed five people and critically injured a 13-year-old girl late Monday before taking his own life Tuesday.
The dead included a mother, her daughter, and a grandson as well as a women’s college basketball player and her girlfriend.
“She was full of joy,” said Jalen Simmons, 27, older brother of Kayla Harris, 24, a Spring Valley High School graduate who recently played for the Adams State University basketball team in Colorado where she was working on a graduate degree.
“Y’all know Kayla is not in a room that she touched and wasn’t brighter because of her,” Simmons said. “No, we did not prepare for this. And I apologize (to) everybody that came out here on such a short notice, man, but like I said, y’all family. Family, man.”
“Oh, I love you so much,” said Sonya Haynes, Harris’ club team coach from fifth to 12th grade. “Thank you for allowing me to be a part of your life. For all of the time we spent together and our friendship, I appreciate you. You are my family. You are my sister.”
About 100 attended the vigil at the Craig Ranch Villas complex at 370 Casa Norte Drive, where well-wishers placed lines of tea and flameless lights on a street in the shapes of “K” for Kayla Harris and “5,” which was her team number at Adams State.
The 13-year-old girl, who lost her grandmother, mother and brother, remained hospitalized with life-threatening wounds Wednesday, according to North Las Vegas police.
Other victims named by loved ones
Jeanette Faria was identified by her best friend, Mercedes Richardson, as one of the five people killed. Faria was Kayla Harris’ girlfriend, according to Marshaya Harris, 45, who is Kayla Harris’ mother.
The suspected shooter, Eric Adams, 48, was Marshaya Harris’ ex-boyfriend. He was not supposed to be at Kayla Harris’ home because Marshaya Harris had a restraining order against him, Marshaya Harris said.
When he saw Kayla Harris with Faria sitting outside the apartment, Adams just came in, argued with Kayla Harris and shot her in front of her mom and then targeted the neighbor because Adams knew they were close to the family, Marshaya Harris said.
A pair of verified fundraiser campaigns on GoFundMe identified the other victims, who were the injured girl’s relatives, as Damiana Munoz, Amy Munoz and Amy Munoz’s son, Christopher.
Christopher was 20, according to his grandfather Sal Munoz.
“Half my family’s gone,” an emotional Sal Munoz, who lives in New Mexico, told the crowd. “Child abuse, domestic abuse, man. This is what happens here. It hit home. My daughter had dreams. She just graduated from respiratory therapist two weeks ago. She was so happy to get out of here. But she chose Vegas. And my granddaughter is fighting for her life in the hospital.”
J.R. Munoz, son of Damiana Munoz, brother to Amy Munoz and uncle to Christopher, told the gathering that “it’s just devastating right now to know that these people that we love so much are not with us no more and I just want to come together as we are right now, honor them, remember them and hold onto the memories that we have.”
Kayla Harris and Christopher were friends “from the beginning,” J.R. Munoz said.
“My sister, she was a go-getter,” he said. “She was smart. She had her life set up. She wanted to be a respiratory nurse. She wanted to save lives, to save babies. She had her whole life ahead of her and may she rest in peace. May they all rest in peace.”
The Clark County coroner’s office identified Kayla Harris as a victim of the shooting Wednesday afternoon, while the identities of the other victims were still being confirmed, the office said.
David Tandberg, president of Adams State University in Colorado, said it was mourning the death of Harris, who was working on a master’s degree in business administration.
“I am personally devastated to learn of Kayla’s tragic death,” the university’s president wrote in a statement. “On behalf of the entire Adams State community, I express my heartfelt condolences to her family and friends and the entire Grizzly community during this extremely difficult time.”
Harris’ basketball team this spring participated in the NCAA Division II national championship basketball tournament, according to the university.
Devastated over the recent tragedy that resulted in Kayla’s life being taken. Our hearts and prayers are with everyone who is affected by this act of evil. We will forever love you Kayla. K5! pic.twitter.com/lJDsksMlcg
— Adams State Women's Basketball (@AdamsStateU_WBB) June 26, 2024
Police timeline
Police described what they saw after responding to the shooting.
Gunfire was reported shortly after 10 p.m. Monday at the apartment complex.
Officers arrived at an apartment to find two dead women and the gravely wounded teenage girl, who was rushed to University Medical Center in critical condition, according to police.
Upon searching a nearby unit, police said they found three more bodies — two other women and a man.
North Las Vegas police later named Adams as the suspected shooter.
His photo was released and police warned that he was armed, dangerous and on the run.
A task force working to find Adams received information that placed him at a business about five miles south of the crime scene, police said. They later spotted Adams in a Las Vegas neighborhood in the 1600 block of Dwayne Stedman Avenue, where he fled into a backyard.
“Officers began giving Adams verbal commands to drop the firearm, however Adams ignored those commands and died by suicide” about 10 a.m., police said.
Police have released limited information about Adams or his possible connection to the victims.
Nevada Department of Corrections records show that Adams was convicted of battery with substantial harm, and in 2010 ordered to serve 16 to 48 months in prison. Additional details on that case were not available.
Police said Wednesday that an investigation into this week’s shooting was ongoing.
This was the third investigation in North Las Vegas this year into shootings that claimed the lives of multiple women.
Three women were killed by a man who was shot and killed by North Las Vegas police in March. A few days later, two women were found shot to death in a nearby neighborhood.
If you’re thinking about suicide, or are worried about a loved one or friend, help is available 24/7 by calling or texting the Lifeline network at 988. Live chat is available at 988lifeline.org.
A previous version of this story misspelled Jeannette Faria’s name.
Contact Ricardo Torres-Cortez at rtorres@reviewjournal.com. Contact Peter Breen at pbreen@reviewjournal.com. Contact Jeff Burbank at jburbank@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0382. Follow him @JeffBurbank2 on X.
