Las Vegas police need help identifying female homicide victim

Metropolitan Police Department homicide detectives asked the public Thursday to help identify a woman in her early 20s who was shot and left to die on a sidewalk early Wednesday in the central Las Vegas Valley.

Officers were called about 12:45 a.m. to the area of View Drive and Quartz Lane, just northeast of Jones Boulevard and Alta Drive, after receiving reports of a body lying near the street.

The woman was shot once in the stomach. Police believe the shooter then stood over the woman as she lay bleeding and shot her again in the head.

She was pronounced dead on the sidewalk where the shooter left her.

Several witnesses heard gunshots but did not witness the shooting.

A gray four-door vehicle, which may or may not have been involved in the incident, was seen leaving the scene, police said. No suspect has been identified.

The victim is described as a black woman with numerous tattoos on her body, including a bird on her right shoulder surrounded by the words, “Love, faith, Serenity,” in a cursive font. She also had a black butterfly tattoo near her left collarbone.

Anyone with information about the victim or the shooting is urged to call Metro’s homicide section at 702-828-3521 or Crime Stoppers at 702-385-5555.

Review-Journal writer Jessica Terrones contributed to this story. Contact Rachel Crosby at rcrosby@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5290. Follow @rachelacrosby on Twitter.