Suspect in Thanksgiving shooting spree appears in Henderson court

Authorities continue to piece together the events that led to a Thanksgiving shooting spree that began in Henderson and continued in Arizona, leaving one man dead, a prosecutor said Tuesday.

One of the three people charged in the shootings, 28-year-old Christopher McDonnell, made a brief appearance before a judge Tuesday and met with his public defender in court.

Meanwhile, his brother, Shawn McDonnell, 30, and his wife, Kayleigh Lewis, 25, remained jailed in Arizona awaiting extradition.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Michael Dickerson said outside court that Shawn McDonnell and Lewis could be transported to Nevada “within the coming days.”

Prosecutors have said they are pursuing possible terrorism and hate crime charges, along with murder and attempted murder charges, and considering the death penalty.

“At this point in time, we have a full investigation going on into everything they’ve done here, in Arizona and in the past,” Dickerson said. “And we’re just assessing all the facts that we know, and we’ll make those decisions as we go forward.”

In one of the shootings, 22-year-old Kevin Mendiola Jr. was killed and three others were injured in front of a 7-Eleven on the 800 block of East Lake Mead Parkway in Henderson.

Four other shootings occurred on Henderson roads around the same time, according to a Henderson police report. At least 10 people were targeted, and authorities received a report of another shooting that could bring that total to 11, prosecutors said.

The crimes continued in the Parker, Arizona, area, where authorities said five more shootings occurred before the trio from Tyler, Texas, was arrested. Authorities said the arrests followed a vehicle chase, a crash and a shooting involving the Arizona Department of Public Safety in La Paz County.

The McDonnells and Lewis had traveled as far as Washington, D.C., before returning west to the Las Vegas area. On that drive, District Attorney Steve Wolfson has said, they crafted a plan for a series of shootings.

On Tuesday, Henderson Justice of the Peace Sam Batemen ordered Christopher McDonnell to return to court next month for a preliminary hearing, in which the judge would decide whether prosecutors had enough evidence present the charges against McDonnell to a jury.

Contact David Ferrara at dferrara@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-1039. Follow @randompoker on Twitter.