Three shot dead in possible drug-related robbery

Just north of Fremont Street, with downtown's neon glowing in the distance, police said three people were shot dead in a small apartment kitchen Monday night.

"There was no fight involved," Metro Lt. Dan McGrath said during a press briefing about a block away from the apartment at Jackson and B streets. One man and one woman died, he said, but it was difficult to tell the sex of the third body because three hours after the 5:50 p.m. shooting it still lay face down among the others.

"What occurred here this evening is unacceptable," said Metro Capt. Robert Plummer. "We spend a lot of time in this neighborhood. It's been a long time since we've had a crime like this occur over here."

Though it was early in the investigation, police said the crime may have been a drug-related robbery. But they stressed there was no back-and-forth. Just a quick series of shots that left three lifeless on the floor.

"It's a shock to the conscience because it's so senseless," Plummer said.

Police are looking for a 6-foot-4-inch man in all black who a witness said slinked up a neighboring alley and around the back of the apartment before the shooting and then bolted away.

Around that time an older van was spotted too, McGrath said. A witness guessed it was from the 90s and said it had dark-red or burgundy paint and a tan stripe along the side. And just like the man, it was near the apartment before the shooting and gone just after.

"I'm not happy," Plummer said about the triple homicide. Three families now have to mourn their loved ones, he said, and "no one should have to do that this time of year."

He called on the community to come forward and help police. But before Plummer and McGrath made statements to the media, most people near the crime scene had questions, not answers. And emotions ran high.

As an officer approached a growing group of 25 people outside the crime scene tape, one woman pointed down the street to where the shooting happened. "We need y'all down there," she yelled. "Not here!"

She walked away and screamed to the sky: "Oh God, oh God."

At one point, two men confronted each other out of grief and anger.

"He was my cousin," one yelled. "I grew up with him."

The other yelled back that he had lost his uncle.

Frustrated, they came at each other. That's when a group of about 10 people intervened.

"There's people dying already," a woman in the middle yelled. "There's three people dead. It's time for us to pull together." And they backed away.

In the hours that followed, the street was littered with cries, screams, hugs and tears. One woman's knees buckled as two others huddled around her. Another woman stood alone, wearing just jeans and a gray T-shirt as she rocked from left to right, shivering and staring as tears fell and investigators filtered in and out of the apartment.

"This is a close-knit community," McGrath said. "A lot of people are family. A lot of people know each other."

Contact Rachel Crosby at rcrosby@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5290. Find her on Twitter: @rachelacrosby