Man shot mother, leads Vegas police on chase as he carjacked bystanders, killing father of 7, police say

LAS VEGAS (KVVU/Gray News) - Police in Las Vegas are investigating a series of homicides that stem from a crime spree turned police chase that left two people dead.

The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department confirmed that the murder of a woman in her 50s and the death of another man are connected to a series of carjacking incidents that ended with an officer-involved shooting that killed the suspect.

According to KVVU, officers arrived at a home near Warm Springs and Bermuda roads around 6:45 Wednesday morning for reports of a shooting.

Police Lt. Jason Johansson said it is believed an unidentified 30-year-old suspect shot and killed his mother in a wash in the area of Placid and Maulding. Police said the suspect’s father was also present but was not hurt in the incident.

The suspect then reportedly stole a law enforcement patrol vehicle and fled the area.

Officers pursued him to the 7300 block of S. Durango, where police say he stole a truck from a citizen. The pursuit of the carjacked vehicle proceeded to the 8500 block of Blue Diamond.

According to police, the suspect used a firearm to carjack yet another vehicle, which was a white van. An officer on the scene saw the suspect’s weapon, recognized the threat the suspect presented and discharged his service weapon.

Police said the suspect was able to flee the area, leading to a continued pursuit to the area of Windmill and Durango. Police heard a gunshot fired there, located the stolen van, and saw that the citizen was injured. The victim later died from his injuries. Police opened fire on the van, striking it multiple times, as the suspected attempted to flee again.

Police said the chase ended at Durango and Agate, when the stolen vehicle stopped running. The stolen van became disabled but police reported that the suspect “refused to cooperate with commands and was in the vehicle alone.”

“Las Vegas Metro Police Department SWAT team and crisis negotiators were summoned to the area. SWAT officers were able to determine that there was no movement within the vehicle. They made an approach and determined with medical assistance that the subject was deceased,” Johansson told the media during a news conference.

The suspect’s cause of death has not been announced. Police also said no officers were injured during the incident or pursuit.

People living near the crime spree said their sense of security has been shaken.

“Nowadays you can’t feel safe anymore,” Mark Munyakindi said. “We’re in a suburban neighborhood. You never expect anything like this to transpire.”

“I’m scared. I’m still traumatized,” Adriana Ybarra-Rojas added. “I feel scared going to the grocery store. I feel scared going to a gas station. Because you’re just thinking about it in the back of your mind, like, ‘Am I going to get shot? Is somebody going to shoot at me?’”

The family of the carjacking victim identified the man killed as 39-year-old Jerry Lopez.

Lopez died Wednesday of injuries suffered when a suspect seized his car while trying to escape police.

“Always made me feel loved. There was never a doubt in my mind that he loved me,” Karen Lopez, Jerry’s wife said.

Karen Lopez said she and Jerry had been married for 13 years.

“Sometimes I would be cooking, and he would grab me and start dancing to nothing,” she said.

Their love eventually expanded to the couple having seven kids, with six of them adopted from the foster care system.

“There were kids that needed a home and we had a home,” Karen said. “We were supposed to grow old together and raise them together.”

Karen Lopez said her husband was a driver for a medical company and just recently found out he was being promoted.

“He was just so proud to have a business card with his name and title. He was just so proud,” Karen Lopez said. “He was so happy to be able to start giving them out to his clients. Obviously I told him I wanted to frame one for him”

The big family just celebrated Christmas and Karen tells FOX5 it was a special one. She describes it as being a loud morning.

“This year with his promotion we were able to spoil the kids like we never have before,” she said.

Jerry was newly promoted and eager to get to work Wednesday morning, when Karen Lopez said her world turned upside down within minutes.

“About four minutes up the street from our house, he just left for work, and he pulled over probably because he saw the police cars coming down the street,” Karen Lopez said.

“The guy just walked up, shot my husband and threw him out of the vehicle, ran him over and took our vehicle,” she said.

Karen Lopez realized her husband never made it to work and decided to look for him by Blue Diamond and Durango.

There, officers told her the big white van Jerry was driving was involved in the chase and shootout the suspect had with police.

“There were so many people walking around, and I just hoped that he was a witness and that they tried to take the car and he was answering questions, and I was praying that was going on,” Karen Lopez said.

That slither of hope ended when she got the news she was dreading.

“My stepdad had to catch me because I just collapsed in the middle of the road, kind of passed out because I couldn’t handle it. It didn’t seem real,” Karen Lopez said.

Karen Lopez is left to keep her husband’s memory alive, while seven of her kids are now left without a father. Their oldest child is only 11.

“Last night he kept texting my husband’s phone, and he said I know daddy isn’t going to answer but I hope daddy can still read the messages and know I love him,” she said.

In the midst of all of this, the family also lost their only car, which was a 12-seat van, as it was totaled in the carjacking.

Friends have set up a GoFundMe account to help the family during this difficult time.