‘Senseless and Avoidable’: Nevada Child Killed After Driver Opens Fire in Road Rage Clash

HENDERSON, NV - A road rage incident in this Nevada city has claimed the life of an 11-year-old child being driven to school by his stepfather on Friday, authorities said. 

The shooter, Tyler Matthew Johns, 22, was arrested after he fired one shot into the back of a small SUV during the incident that occurred Friday morning on Interstate 215 in Henderson, 16 miles south of Las Vegas, the Henderson Police Department said, according to The New York Post. 

The incident started when Johns and the victim’s stepfather began contesting a lane as they weaved past each other on the highway, also known as the Las Vegas Beltway, police said. One car swerved past the other on the shoulder, and both drivers rolled down their windows and started verbally berating each other. That was when Johns pulled a handgun out and shot at the victim’s car. 

“We lost a life today that we didn’t have to lose,” Police Chief Reggie Rader told reporters. 

“An 11-year-old boy was on his way to school, and this senseless act took his life. I need everybody to be patient on our roadways. We have an obligation to look out for each other.” 

After the shooting, the victim’s stepfather rammed into Johns’ car, forcing it to stop in the middle of the highway. Both men jumped out of their vehicles and began fighting in the middle of the highway, Rader said. A passing Las Vegas police officer broke up the fight and took the suspect into custody. 

Despite lifesaving efforts being undertaken at the scene, the child was pronounced dead at the scene, police said. 

Johns was charged with open murder and discharging a firearm into a vehicle, police said. He is being held on a paltry $20,000 bond, according to jail records. 

“The holidays are coming up and we usually have congestion and tempers run high,” Rader said. “It is not worth it to engage in this type of behavior on either party. I would rather you be stuck in traffic and late for your destination than have to go to a funeral for a loved one or potentially spend the rest of your life in prison."

He continued, “We have to do better as a city, we have to do better as a community, and we have to do better as human beings because we can’t allow this to continue to happen.” 

Authorities did not release the name of the victim.