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Sources say three girls watched dad get killed

Man killed, woman injured.
Posted at 8:19 AM, May 15, 2016
and last updated 2016-05-16 19:22:23-04

UPDATE: Sources tell 13 Action News, three children watched their dad get shot and killed.

"I heard gunshots," said witness Rosanna Vella. "I heard a woman yelling. I couldn't make out what she was saying. I just knew she was yelling. There was a man coming down the street and there was a shovel in his hand and his hands were all bloody."
 
Vella snapped a picture of the bloody shovel that was apparently used during the homicide. Vella also got a picture of the suspect who police identified as 34-year old Mario Espinoza. She says Espinoza was the one holding the shovel.
"All the time he (Espinoza) was in the back of the police car, all he kept saying was, you guys ain't gonna kill me. You ain't gonna shoot me. You ain't gonna stab me. What are you guys gonna do? Why am I doing to jail?"
 
According to Vella and a close family friend, the man who was killed was Salvador Ramirez. They say his wife, Danielle, was also shot at, but she survived the attack. We're told the couple has four girls and three of them were home at the time of the shooting.
 
"This was done in front of those kids," said Vella. "Three of them."
 
The same sources tell 13 Action News, the suspect, Mario Espinoza, was staying with the family. The Ramirez family was apparently doing him a favor and trying to help him get back on his feet after recently getting out of prison.
 
"They were helping him. They were trying to help somebody get on their feet and this is what happened. Those kids lost their father."
 

ORIGINAL STORY:

LAS VEGAS (KTNV) -- One man was killed and a woman stabbed and shot during a roommate dispute early Sunday morning.

It happened near in the 3700 block of Stewart Ave, near Pecos Road, around 5:30 a.m. Sunday.

Officers were called to the scene after hearing reports of gunfire. When they arrived, they found one man dead inside a trailer. His identity will be released by the Clark County coroner.

A woman living there had also been shot and stabbed. Her injuries are non-life threatening and she is in stable condition at University Medical Center.

3 young children living in the home were unharmed.

"Some type of dispute or argument between two males inside the trailer," said Lt. Dan McGrath. "They were all staying there and knew each other. The suspect went and got a gun and shot the victim multiple times."

The woman received multiple gunshot wounds as a result of errant bullets.

34-year-old Mario Espinoza was taken into custody without incident a short distance from the crime scene. He was transported to Clark County Detention Center and faces charges or murder with a deadly weapon, attempted murder and possession of a firearm by a prohibited person.

This is the 67th homicide investigated by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department in 2016.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Crime Stoppers at 702-385-5555.

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