Suspect sought in killings of 5 in North Las Vegas dies by suicide after overnight manhunt, police say

By Sara Smart, CNN

(CNN) — An overnight manhunt for a gunman sought in the deaths of five people in North Las Vegas ended Tuesday morning after police located him just before he killed himself.

Eric Adams, 47, was identified by police as a suspect in two shootings on Monday night, according to a news release from the North Las Vegas Police Department.

Five people were killed and a 13-year-old girl was hospitalized in critical condition with a gunshot wound after the shooting spree at two apartments.

The shooting started when an argument broke out between the suspect and his ex-girlfriend while he was visiting her apartment, police said Thursday in an updated news release.

Around 10 p.m. on Monday, police received reports of a shooting at an apartment complex on Casa Norte Drive, the release said. When they arrived, police located two adult females – one in her early 40s and another in her late 50s – with gunshot wounds. They were later pronounced dead by medical personnel, according to police.

“The two got into a domestic-related argument, during which Adams armed himself with a gun and shot two other women in the apartment,” the Thursday news release said.

Police later located a third victim, a 13-year-old female, who also had a gunshot wound and remains in critical condition at UMC Trauma Center as of Thursday, police told CNN in an email.

Three more victims were with gunshot wounds were found at another apartment in the same complex, police said Thursday – Adams’ ex-girlfriend’s 24-year-old daughter and her 22-year-old friend, along with a 20-year-old man. All three were pronounced dead at the scene, police said.

The 20-year-old victim, who was an upstairs neighbor, heard the commotion and decided to check on the women to see if he could help, police said. Adams then shot him when he arrived at the apartment, police said.

At that point, the suspect went upstairs and shot three people who were inside that apartment, including a 59-year-old woman, a 40-year-old woman and the teenage girl, police said. Two other people were inside the apartment but were left unharmed.

Police then identified Adams as a suspect and the manhunt began overnight.

After the shootings, Adams took his ex-girlfriend hostage and fled the area, police said. At some point in the early hours of Tuesday morning, the ex-girlfriend escaped unharmed and found a nearby Las Vegas Metropolitan Police officer to ask for help.

Police searched throughout the night for Adams until around 10 a.m. on Tuesday, when they received a tip that he was at a business on East Lake Mead Boulevard.

When police arrived at that area, Adams fled to the backyard of a nearby residence.

“Officers began giving Adams verbal commands to drop the firearm, however, Adams ignored those commands and died by suicide,” the release says.

Police are continuing their investigation into the incident.

“The surviving victims and their families are being assisted by the North Las Vegas Police Department, victim advocates and detectives, to help them through this difficult time,” police said Thursday.

This story has been updated with additional information.

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