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Estranged husband shoots, kills wife’s male acquaintance, himself

A woman's estranged husband fatally shot her male acquaintance Wednesday after­noon before turning the gun on himself in a central valley home, Las Vegas police said.

Shortly after noon, police were called to a home in the 2000 block of Sunland Avenue, near Alta and Tonopah drives, after reports of gunshots.

Police spokesman Marcus Martin said SWAT officers entered the house and found two men dead. The woman's estranged husband shot and killed the male friend and then shot himself in what Martin called a murder-suicide.

The woman and her three children under 5 years old were at the home during the confrontation. They escaped unharmed.

Police spokesman Jose Hernandez said the estranged husband kicked the door in before the shooting.

He and Martin said Wednesday afternoon that the holidays did not appear to play a role in the double shooting.

Martin said it was more of a case of a "strained relationship."

Hernandez said detectives will probe the lives of the three adults to find out what sparked the murder-suicide.

"More than anything, it's about their personal lives."

The Clark County coroner's office will release the names of the dead men.

Wednesday night, investigators focused on a black Audi that sat in the home's driveway. The car was eventually placed on the bed of a tow truck and driven away.

Police tape that surrounded the home where the shooting occurred - and several neighbors' homes - came down about 7:30 p.m.

A police employee walking in the street thanked several workers placing items into the back of a crime scene investigations truck. He wished them a happy Thanksgiving.

The neighborhood where the shooting occurred is filled with ranch-style homes built in the 1960s. Mature palm trees swayed with the breeze on the brisk night.

Primarily older couples live in the neighborhood, residents said.

Vicky Hedderman has been in her home for a decade.

She said she arrived home Wednesday shortly after the gunshots. She didn't hear gunfire, but police told her to leave her home.

They made Hedderman wait at the end of her street until they deemed it safe, three hours later.

Hedderman said she didn't know the family involved in the shooting, but a man and a woman, who appeared to be in their 20s, moved in less than a year ago.

She said the shooting was tragic.

"It's been pretty sad ... devastating," she said.

Hedderman said although the shooting shook up some of her family members, she loves her neighborhood and realizes domestic violence can erupt anywhere.

When asked whether the shooting would dampen her Thanksgiving, she said, "I'll say a few more prayers."

Contact reporter Antonio Planas at aplanas@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4638.

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