Mass shooting kills one and injures four near a homeless encampment in Las Vegas - lone gunman still at large

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Homeless camp by is licensed under Canva
LAS VEGAS, NV - On Friday, December 1st, a shooting took place at an intersection near U.S. Highway 95 in East Las Vegas. According to authorities with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD), the shooting left one person dead and three others injured. 

The shooting happened just after 5:30 p.m., and police confirmed that all five victims were homeless. Upon arriving on scene, officers located the homeless encampment and identified the five people that had been shot. One of the victims, identified as a man in his 50s, was later pronounced dead at the hospital. 

Four other men were injured in the shooting. One of those individuals is listed as in critical condition and another one of the victims was identified as a teenage male. The circumstances of the shooting have yet to be provided by authorities and as of this writing, the shooter remains at large.

Witnesses told police that they saw a man in a hoodie leave the area in a dark sedan, but police still do not have an accurate description of the shooter. Officers are unsure if the shooting was an isolated incident and will know more as the investigation unfolds.

This shooting comes shortly after the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) announced on Friday, December 1st, that they are looking for a suspected serial killer in the fatal shootings of three homeless people from earlier in the week. Those shootings occurred on Sunday, November 26th, Monday, November 27th, and Wednesday, November 29th.

LAPD Chief Michel Moore said that single person is believed to be responsible for those killings. All of the shootings occurred in open areas and police believe that the victims were shot and killed while they slept during the early morning hours.

In a news conference on Friday, December 1st, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass urged unhoused people to immediately seek shelter. She said, "Our message to the unhoused community is clear. Do not sleep alone tonight. Seek shelter, seek services, stay together. Seek support and we need your help to get the word out."

Moore said that a task force has been created under the Robbery-Homicide division, which includes investigators from multiple specialties. He said, "We're bringing homicide investigators from throughout the city, We're bringing additional investigators from specialized posts and we have placed our forensic science division on ready so that any forensic evidence that is gathered is also quickly processed and analyzed in an effort to identify the person we believe is responsible for these three homicides."

Moore said that they have contacted officials from surrounding cities to see if they have reported any similar crimes. He added, "We have no unsolved homicides outside the city of Los Angeles. Yet our work continues in identifying whether there are any other shooting victims of persons who are experiencing homelessness, which are unsolved and may have any similarities to these homicides."
 
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