Man arrested in fatal shooting near West Las Vegas Library

An 18-year-old man has been arrested in the February death of a Shadow Ridge High School student who was gunned down near a library.

A month after a warrant was issued for his arrest, Tyrone Washington Jr. was booked Sunday into Clark County Detention Center on a murder charge. Washington was arrested in Louisiana earlier this month and extradited to Las Vegas, Metropolitan Police Department officer Laura Meltzer said.

The suspect is accused of fatally shooting Tiris Coleman Jr., 17, near the West Las Vegas Library on Feb. 19. Coleman later died at University Medical Center.

Police have said Coleman was shot in a parking lot at the library, 951 W. Lake Mead Blvd., after a fight on a nearby basketball court. Washington’s arrest report indicates that Coleman had visible injuries on his forehead, nose, chin and right eye when he died.

Detectives tracked social media chatter about the shooting back to Washington. Another teen who was with Coleman during the shooting also identified Washington as the gunman, the arrest report shows.

The witness told detectives that Coleman and a handful of teenage boys were walking to the basketball court when Washington was seen reaching for what looked like a handgun in his waistband. The teens ran in the other direction as shots were fired, according to the report.

One of Coleman’s friends may have been the intended target, because he had dated Washington’s cousin, the report indicates. But the shooting also may have been a result of a rivalry between two neighborhood gangs.

Washington remains in jail without bail. He also faces a charge of assault with a deadly weapon. The warrant for his arrest was issued Feb. 27, court records show.

Coleman was a senior at Shadow Ridge and a lineman on the varsity football team.

Just minutes before the shooting, a Metro sergeant had been at the basketball court, handing out stickers and baseball cards to kids, police said.

Wesley Juhl contributed. Contact Mike Shoro at mshoro@reviewjournal.com. Follow @mike_shoro on Twitter.