According to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, a suspect in Las Vegas shot his mother two days after Christmas. He then led police on a wild chase, where he stole police vehicles, carjacked several people at gunpoint, and finally killed a father of 7 who was heading to work.
The suspect was killed by police after they fired into the van that Jerry Lopez, 39, owned, which had been stolen as part of his criminal spree.
The unnamed suspect shot and killed Lopez. The suspect then pulled Lopez’s dead body from the van and tried to flee shortly before 4 am.
Police officers opened fire on the van as the suspect fled. The vehicle came to a stop a few minutes later, at Durango Drive and Agate Avenue. This is located about 11 miles south of the Las Vegas Strip.
According to The Associated Press, Lopez leaves behind a widow and seven children ranging in age from three to eleven.
Karen Lopez claimed that her husband had been in the wrong place and at the wrong moment after he stopped the family van for police cars that were pursuing a suspect.
Karen and Jerry Lopez have been married for 13 years. They’ve fostered 12 kids since 2017. Six of these children were returned to their parents. According to The AP, they adopted six of the kids, making their 11-year-old son a big brother to two sisters, and four brothers.
Karen Lopez, a reporter for The AP, said: “He was an incredible father to our children.” “He would walk in the door, drop his things, and jump into the action with the children, without even taking a second to himself, after work.”
The motive for the shooting spree is not known. It began around 3:45 am when the suspect allegedly shot his mother in the vicinity of his childhood home, near Maulding Avenue and Placid Street in the southeast part of Las Vegas. Officers who arrived at the scene to investigate heard more gunfire, and they took cover.
Captain Joshua Martinez, of the LVMPD said that the suspect stole a patrol car from LVMPD and used it as a weapon to break through a police-set containment zone.
Officers began a pursuit of the suspect’s vehicle and saw him drive to the 7300 Block of South Durango Drive, about eight miles from his parent’s home. He then abandoned the vehicle.
Police said that he then attempted to carjack a second person in an SUV and abandoned his stolen truck.
An LVMPD officer fired a weapon after the suspect pointed a gun at the victim. The suspect fled in his SUV.
The early morning police chase continued in the area of Durango Drive, Windmill Lane, and the suspect fatally wounded Lopez.
Officers reported that they observed the suspect remove the victim from the vehicle. LVMPD and Nevada State Police Officers then fired at the suspect’s vehicle, striking it “multiple times” as the vehicle fled.
Medical personnel responded and the suspect died at the scene.
The police reported that no officers were injured in the incident.
