Gunfire kills one, hurts two

One man was killed, and two were wounded, in a Monday morning shooting in the 2600 block of Elm Avenue near U.S. Highway 95 and Eastern Avenue.

The Clark County coroner's office identified the dead man as 26-year-old Francisco Alvarez.

Two of the victims were taken to University Medical Center, where they were reported to be in stable condition. Las Vegas police said the three victims were in their early 20s.

Alvarez was found about a mile from the shooting, sitting alone in the passenger seat of a blue Toyota 4Runner parked in the driveway of a North Las Vegas home at 912 Webb Ave., near Eastern and Owens Avenue. Who was driving the vehicle was unclear.

Alvarez shares the Webb Avenue home with his sister and brother-in-law, family members confirmed. A man who answered the door at the home Monday evening said the Alvarez family declined requests for additional comments.

A resident at the corner of Alvin Street and Elm, where the shooting occurred, said she was awakened by gunshots around 4:45 a.m.

The 4Runner had crashed into the chain-link fence across her driveway and stalled. The driver of the truck had been shot, and the passenger switched seats with the injured driver, she said.

"I told him to wait because we'd already called police, and there was a firetruck right down the street," she said. "But he just said, 'Call the police,' and left."

She didn't see another car, but earlier her son had seen a blue or purple four-door car in pursuit of the truck. A passenger from the car fired several shots at the 4Runner and fled the scene, she said.

Police said a car was seen fleeing the scene at a high rate of speed. It was described as a dark, compact vehicle.

Police said there was no description of the suspects. The resident said the victims were all Hispanic. She said there are bullet holes in the side of her house, and she thinks the victims might have returned fire.

"That would be the only way I'd get it (bullet holes) in mine (house)," she said. "The other car was facing the other way."

Police said the three victims were returning from a nightclub, possibly with women, when they were approached by an unknown number of suspects. Police do not think the shooting is gang-related.

The woman who lives at Alvin and Elm said she heard women screaming after the gunshots were fired but did not see women with the victims.

Steve Sledge, 47, lives a few blocks from the shooting. He investigated the scene to make sure his friends were OK.

"This area is kind of bad," he said. "There's lots of drug activity. I stay in my home most of the time."

Reporter Antonio Planas contributed to this report. Contact reporter Mike Blasky at mblasky@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0283.