New details released following Las Vegas area rampage

LAS VEGAS  – Prosecutors are weighing possible hate crime and terrorism charges against three suspects, from Tyler, following a shooting spree in the suburbs of Las Vegas that ended with their arrests in rural Arizona, according to Fox News. Michael Schwartzer, a Chief deputy Clark County district attorney, said Shawn McDonnell, 30, Christopher McDonnell, 28, and Kayleigh Lewis, 25, could face the death penalty in Las Vegas stemming from the 11-hour two-state rampage, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported. Kevin Mendiola Jr., 22, of North Las Vegas, was killed and three other people were wounded in one shooting at a Henderson convenience store. Schwartzer said other people reported being targeted on southern Nevada freeways and roads before 1 a.m. on Nov. 26. “Once we get our arms around this, it’s going to be quite a case,” Schwartzer said. “We’re still trying to find out what happened.”

The McDonnells are brothers and Lewis is married to Christopher McDonnell. Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson said the trio is from Tyler, Texas. They were arrested Nov. 26 following several vehicle-to-vehicle shootings in the area of the Colorado River town of Parker, Ariz., a chase involving the Arizona Department of Public Safety, a vehicle crash, and the wounding of Shawn McDonnell by two troopers wielding assault-style rifles in La Paz County, Ariz. Troopers reported that Shawn McDonnell pointed a handgun at them before he was shot, and that a search found three handguns, two machete-style knives and a baseball bat in a wrecked black Toyota Camry with tinted windows.

Their prosecution in Las Vegas could include crimes in both states, under a court doctrine of “long-arm jurisdiction.”

Christopher McDonnell faced a judge in Nevada on Tuesday on charges of murder, attempted murder, battery and firearm charges. Henderson Justice of the Peace Stephen George set a Dec. 15 bail hearing. Lewis was being held at the La Paz County jail pending a court hearing, and Shawn McDonnell was hospitalized with gunshot wounds.