Henderson man’s death at birthday party ruled a suicide

The shooting death of a man at a November birthday party has been ruled a suicide, although it remains unclear whether he pulled the trigger intentionally.

Henderson resident Ryan Nelson, 23, died of a gunshot wound to the head, the Clark County coroner’s office said.

Nelson pulled the trigger on Nov. 10 in a bedroom at the Amalfi Apartments, 2750 Wigwam Ave., near Las Vegas Boulevard and Blue Diamond Road, Metropolitan Police Department homicide Lt. Ray Spencer said. Police believe the bullet that killed him then hit another man in the head, critically injuring him.

Police initially thought the gunshot might have been unintentional. Nearly five months later they don’t know for certain, in part because they haven’t talked to the other person who was shot. That man, in his mid-20s, is still rehabilitating from his injury, Spencer said.

“Once we talk to him, I can have a little bit more clear of an answer,” said Spencer.

Both men were attending a birthday party of about eight people in one of the apartment units.

“We know that one of the people at the party did see the deceased holding a firearm, and the next thing they know, they heard a gunshot and there were two people shot by gunfire,” Spencer said at the time.

At the time, Spencer said there was alcohol at the party, but officers were unsure whether anyone was intoxicated. Everyone at the apartment appeared to be in their 20s, he said.

“This is a tragic situation where you have alcohol involved and you also have firearms,” Spencer said. “Those are two things that definitely do not mix.”

Clark County Coroner John Fudenberg explained that medical examiners typically have no way of knowing a person’s thoughts when determining the cause of a gun death and therefore rule a death a suicide based on actions.

Circumstances can vary, but if there’s no question someone’s actions caused his or her own death, coroners typically rule them suicides, Fudenberg said.

“How it is applied is not necessarily whether they intended to; it’s that they did,” he said.

Fudenberg acknowledged that ruling deaths to be suicides is often difficult on family and loved ones, as there are painful emotions associated with suicide.

“We take those very seriously, and we don’t make those rulings lightly or in a vacuum,” he said.

Reached by phone Tuesday, Nelson’s mother, Vicki, didn’t want to discuss details of her son’s death but said she wishes the coroner’s office had “more categories” to classify deaths.

Vicki Nelson of Orange County, California, said her son was “a friend to everyone” and liked helping people. He had family members who worked as emergency medical technicians, and he started working as one himself in the Los Angeles area at 19. He had moved to Henderson and had been working for Community Ambulance for a little over a year at the time of his death, she said.

He had considered going into law enforcement down the line, she said.

Nelson was the outdoorsy type, who enjoyed snowboarding and off-roading, she said.

“Always looking forward to the next adventure,” Vicki Nelson said.

Contact Mike Shoro at mshoro@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5290. Follow @mike_shoro on Twitter.