A woman is mourning her husband and the father of her seven children after he was killed in a carjacking in the southwest Las Vegas Valley last Wednesday.
According to Las Vegas Metropolitan Police (LVMP), authorities were notified of a shooting near Placid St. around 3:46 a.m. and Maulding Ave. They later learned that the suspect, Justin Davidson, 36, allegedly fired a shotgun in the laundry room area behind his parents’ home.
In a statement shared by police, they reported that Davidson’s parents were awakened by gunshots and headed toward the laundromat. As they approached, Davidson allegedly fired a rifle at them, killing his mother. His father went to his truck and Davidson allegedly fired at the fleeing vehicle.
LVMP said in a statement that when authorities arrived at the scene, Davidson began shooting at them from a hidden location. They added that he then took over a burning patrol car and fled the scene.
Davidson ended up in the 7300 block of South Durango Drive after police lost track of him during a chase. Then he left the police vehicle, and later he allegedly kidnapped several citizens with a truck at gunpoint, the LVMP said, adding that these citizens were not injured.
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The suspect then fled in the stolen truck to the 8500 block of Blue Diamond when he arrived at a gas station and allegedly carjacked another person’s SUV, authorities said.
LVMP added that Davidson, who was in a stolen SUV, then pulled up next to the van in the area of Durango Dr. and Mistral Avenue. He shot at the van, causing it to stop, according to authorities.
When police arrived at the scene, Davidson got out of the SUV and ran to the passenger side of the van allegedly holding a “long gun,” LVMP said. They add that Davidson then allegedly shot at the van again, entered the vehicle from the passenger side and pushed the victim out.
Officers fired their weapons at Davidson, who was struck several times and then drove away, according to the release.
The victim who was pushed by Davidson later died at the scene, LVMP said.
After the van carrying Davidson stopped, the suspect did not obey authorities’ request to get out of the vehicle, LVMP said. When no further movement was observed in the van, the police entered and Davidson was pronounced dead.
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Jerry Lopez was killed in a carjacking in Las Vegas on Wednesday.
GoFundMe
The carjacking victim who died has been identified as Jerry Lopez, 39, according to a GoFundMe page set up for his family.
According to the description of the fundraiser, Lopez was driving to work at the time of the incident. About four minutes up the street from his home, he pulled over after noticing a police car with flashing lights and sirens coming toward him.
After stopping, the suspect, who was fleeing from police, approached Lopez’s car and allegedly shot and killed him. He then ran over Lopez with the vehicle, leaving the car completely destroyed, according to the GoFundMe description.
“Jerry was the heart of our family and while we can’t bring him back, your support ensures that his love and legacy continue to guide us,” Jerry’s wife Karen Lopez wrote on the GoFundMe page, which has raised nearly $400,000 as of Monday.
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On Thursday, Karen spoke to Fox affiliate KVVU about the incident. She explained that she found out her husband of 13 years had died after she went looking for him after realizing he never showed up for work.
“There were so many people walking around and I was just hoping that he was a witness and they tried to take the car and he was answering questions, and I was praying that it was happening,” Karen said.
Then she was told the news. She told the outlet: “My stepdad had to catch me because I just collapsed in the middle of the road and kind of passed out because I couldn’t take it. It didn’t seem real.”
“The guy just walked up, shot my husband and threw him out of the vehicle, ran him over and took our vehicle,” she added.
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In the interview, Karen also noted how she and Jerry adopted six of their seven children from the foster care system. Their oldest child, she said, is only 11 years old.
She told KVVU that “there were children who needed a home and we had a home. We should have grown old together and raised them together.”
She also explained how her husband, a driver for a medical company, had recently found out he had been promoted. And because of the promotion, Jerry and Karen spoiled their children with gifts for Christmas.
“He was so proud to have a business card with his name and title on it, he was so proud,” Karen said. “He was so happy to start handing them out to his clients, obviously I told him I wanted to frame one for him.”
According to the LVMP, authorities in their investigation found “a notebook with a diagram of a potential ambush situation indicating that Davidson was prepared for an armed confrontation with the police.”
It added that investigators also discovered “tactical equipment, preparation supplies, numerous military manuals and documents related to police responses to mass casualty incidents” at two residences linked to the suspect.
Authorities said the investigation is ongoing and the incident is being reviewed by the LVMPD Critical Incident Team.
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