Relatives, friends mark 1st anniversary of Jorge Gomez’s death
A year ago on Tuesday, Jorge Gomez was shot and killed by Las Vegas police while armed with multiple guns during a Black Lives Matter demonstration. He was 25.
The police shooting occurred on the third straight night of protests in Las Vegas, sparked by the May 2020 murder of George Floyd while in Minneapolis police custody.
To mark Gomez’s first death anniversary, his relatives and friends gathered Tuesday at Nelson’s Landing in the Lake Mead National Recreation Area — one of Gomez’s favorite places. They also were joined by police accountability activists.
Ahead of the event, Gomez’s mother, Jeanne Llera, told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that she wanted the day “to be about family and nature,” both of which were important to her son.
“We don’t want to give this day to the cops,” she added.
Last month, Clark County’s district attorney announced that the four officers who shot and killed Gomez would not be charged in the shooting. Authorities have said that Gomez, who was armed with three guns and wearing a ballistics vest on the night of the protest, had raised one of the weapons at a group of police officers, prompting the shooting.
Metro was unable to locate any videos to support that narrative during its investigation into the shooting, Detective Jason Leavitt previously said.
A demonstration to protest the district attorney’s decision is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Saturday at Downtown Container Park.
