An 11-year-old Nevada boy on his way to school was fatally shot in a road-rage incident over position on a congested Las Vegas area freeway Friday morning, authorities said.
The suspect, a 22-year-old man, was arrested at the scene of the shooting, Henderson Police Chief Reggie Rader said.
“We lost a life today that we didn’t have to lose,” Rader told reporters. “An 11-year-old was on his way to school, and this senseless act took his life.”
The shooting happened around 7:30 a.m. on Interstate 215 westbound in Henderson, a city adjacent to Las Vegas to the southeast, officials said.
The two drivers “became involved in a road-rage incident when they began jockeying for positions, trying to pass each other on the congested freeway,” Rader said.
One of the cars passed the other on the shoulder of the freeway, known as the Las Vegas Beltway, he said, and both drivers got into an argument through their rolled down windows.
“Our suspect then produced a handgun and fired one round at our victim vehicle, tragically striking an 11-year-old passenger who was sitting in the back seat of that vehicle,” he said.
The child’s stepfather them rammed the other car, causing both to stop on the vehicle, and a passing Las Vegas police officer was flagged down and took the suspect into custody, Rader said.
Henderson police arrested the suspect on charges of open murder and discharging a firearm at a vehicle.
The suspect was being booked when Rader spoke at a news conference and his name was not immediately released. A firearm was recovered at the scene, he said. The suspect was the only person in the incident with a gun, he said.
Rader on Friday called for drivers to be patient, and said, “We have an obligation to look out for each other.”
“The holidays are coming up, and we usually have congestion and tempers run high. It is not worth it to engage in this type of behavior, on either party,” he said.
