Two youths are shot, killed in separate Halloween outings

A 14-year-old walking home from a Halloween party was gunned down and killed during a street robbery Thursday morning, and a 19-year-old was shot and killed at a holiday party, in two separate slayings, police said.

About 1:30 a.m., a 14-year-old and his 15-year-old friend were walking home from a party near Rancho Drive and Decatur Boulevard when they noticed they were being followed by a vehicle, the 15-year-old said.

The teens continued walking for about 10 minutes until they reached the corner of Ullom Drive and Sawyer Avenue, the teen said. The vehicle following them stopped, and a male in his late teens got out holding a handgun, the teen said.

The man robbed the teens, police said. Afterward, the 15-year-old said the suspect asked the teens for their gang affiliation, at which point the victim replied that he was in "Squad Up."

Squad Up is a hybrid gang known to be active throughout the Las Vegas Valley. Hybrid gangs are groups of young men who hang around each other and sometimes hail from rival gangs.

Hybrid gangs have been associated with several killings in the valley, including the shooting death of 19-year-old Patrick Russum in January.

The assailant then opened fire, shooting at least seven rounds, witnesses said. The 14-year-old was struck and fell onto the sidewalk.

The 15-year-old said the gunman fired at him as he ran down the street. He wasn't wounded.

Esmeralda Martinez, who lives at the corner of Ullom and Sawyer, said she was awakened by the gunfire. When she looked out her window, she saw the 14-year-old bleeding on the sidewalk in front of her house.

He was taken to University Medical Center, where he was declared dead.

The 15-year-old said the victim was a student at Brinley Middle School. Authorities are withholding his identity until his family is notified.

About an hour earlier in North Las Vegas, a 19-year-old man was shot and killed at a Halloween party.

North Las Vegas police said officers were dispatched to an apartment complex on the 1800 block of Gowan Road, near Martin Luther King Boulevard, about 12:30 a.m. because of a noise complaint.

While they were heading to the apartment, a dispatcher told officers that shots were fired from the address.

When officers arrived, they found Las Vegan Jamal Hill on the sidewalk. He was declared dead at the scene.

Police haven't arrested anyone in either shooting.

Anyone with information in either case is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 385-5555.

Contact reporter David Kihara at dkihara @reviewjournal.com or (702) 383-4638.