LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — On Wednesday morning, a man died after he broke into the home where his ex, her current boyfriend and three small children were sleeping overnight.
The woman was armed with a handgun, police say. The man left the house and came back moments later with a handgun of his own. The ex then put a gun to the boyfriend's head, police say. That's when the woman shot him, according to authorities. She fired one round.
PREVIOUS: Woman shot, killed ex after he broke into home in southeast Vegas, police say
The shooting follows several others this year involving ex-couples in Las Vegas.
Most of the reported shootings started with some sort of fight and ended with a woman being killed.
In January, police say a woman was shot and killed by her boyfriend after a fight.
In February, police say a woman was shot and killed in her apartment after a fight with a man she knew.
In March, police say two women were shot and killed in separate incidents involving an ex-lover.
Liz Ortenburger, the CEO of Safe Nest, says violence involving couples or ex-couples has always been an issue in Clark County, but especially in the past two years.
“Domestic violence in Clark County, pre-pandemic, was already high. We saw the same kind of domestic violence situations during the recession," Ortenburger said. "We saw, in a milder form, an uptick in domestic violence after the 10/1 shooting because, again, you’ve got a community that’s dealing with a stressful event all at the same time."
Ortenburger said cases of domestic violence have continued to climb. She believes a lot of it could have to do with pandemic-related stresses.
“Numbers have been up almost 20 percent over the period of the pandemic, which is still going on in a lot of cases,” Ortenburger said.
SafeNest offers free, 24/7 resources for victims of abuse.
