A 19-year-old Nevada man admitted to carrying out a fatal shooting after experiencing an overwhelming urge to kill, according to law enforcement officials. The young man is now facing a charge of open murder with a deadly weapon.
The incident took place in the early hours of February 17 in front of a Walgreens located on North Durango Drive in the Coral Bay neighborhood of Las Vegas. A 911 call was made at approximately 2:45 a.m., initially reporting that a man might be suicidal and had ingested a large number of pills. The call was then transferred to the police.
When officers arrived at the scene, they found the victim wrapped in a white sheet near the steps of the store, suffering from a gunshot wound to the head. Despite immediate attempts to save him, the man was pronounced dead at the scene.
Shortly after, a witness from the neighborhood came forward and identified the suspect as the shooter. The witness reported waking up around 3 a.m. to noises outside and later learned about the crime. Acting on this information, officers arrested the suspect at his home, where they also discovered two firearms.
During questioning, the suspect allegedly admitted to having increasingly violent thoughts in recent weeks, which intensified whenever he consumed alcohol. On the night of the shooting, he had been drinking when he decided to steal money from his parents. After taking a debit card, he attempted to withdraw cash but failed due to not knowing the correct PIN.
While at the ATM, the suspect became paranoid, believing that a group of men wearing white clothing had followed him. He decided to return home, retrieve two firearms, and head back out in search of these individuals. While walking, he encountered a man wearing a white hoodie.
The suspect approached the man and asked if he had seen anyone else around. The man said he had not but asked to borrow the suspect’s phone so he could call for transportation to a hospital. Instead of handing over the phone, the suspect offered to accompany him across the street to a nearby hospital, but the man declined, stating he needed to go to a different one.
The two then walked together before sitting on the steps where the victim’s body was later discovered. As they talked, their conversation took a dark turn. The suspect reportedly admitted to having violent thoughts and wanting to kill someone. In response, the victim allegedly stated that he sometimes felt the same way.
At some point, the victim mentioned that he had once set someone on fire. This statement triggered something in the suspect’s mind, leading him to believe he had to act. According to his account, he then offered the victim a drink, stood up, walked behind him, and fired a fatal shot to the back of his head before fleeing home.
Authorities took the suspect into custody, and he is currently being held without bail. He is scheduled for a preliminary hearing in early April.
