Lawyer and his wife shot dead in Las Vegas office

Police officers at the scene in Summerlin, Las Vegas – Ty ONeil/AP

A Las Vegas lawyer and his pregnant wife were reportedly shot by a rival attorney following a child custody battle.

Dennis Prince, a personal injury and insurance lawyer, was killed in his office alongside his wife, Ashley, by Joseph Houston, according to local news outlets.

Police have not yet identified the victims or the gunman but confirmed that three people were dead after a shooting in the Summerlin area.

Their identities have not been independently verified by The Telegraph.

Multiple law enforcement sources told Las Vegas’s Channel 13 that Ashley Prince and her former partner, who was Houston’s son, were engaged in a child custody battle.

Prince was being represented by her new husband, Dennis, while Houston was acting for his son.

Police received an emergency call about the shooting at a multistorey building around 10am on Monday 2024, and blocked off the surrounding roads shortly afterwards.

Dennis Prince had four children, his former law partner Robert Eglet said

They revealed two hours later that the gunman was dead, having apparently turned the gun on himself.

Hundreds of people were evacuated from the building as police officers went door-to-door to move them to the nearby Red Rock Casino Resort. Prince Law Group was said to be on the fifth floor.

‘There’s no further threat’

“You have two deceased victims on the scene and there’s no further threat to the community,” Sheriff Kevin McMahill told reporters .

“You’ve got a five or six-storey building, you’ve got people that are hunkered down following their active shooter protocols. We’re going door by door to make sure that everybody in there is OK and evacuating them.”

He added that officers were investigating the suspect’s vehicle, which had apparently been parked inside the building before the shooting.

Robert Eglet, Prince’s former law partner, said he had four children and that his death was “not just a loss to his family, but also to the community”.

Prince volunteered with Substance Free Nevada, a charity that raises awareness about the dangers of drug abuse, according to a profile on his website.

Las Vegas Police said: “This shooting occurred at a law office. There are two deceased victims and the shooter is dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot.

“The multistorey office building and hundreds of people inside were evacuated during this incident.

“The motive and the relationship between the victims and the shooter are under investigation.”

Joseph Houston’s office did not respond to a request for comment.

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