LAS VEGAS – Gunfire shattered the morning calm at a Las Vegas law office on Monday, leaving a respected attorney and his wife dead in a burst of inexplicable violence. The chaotic scene unfolded as the couple attended a routine child custody hearing that went horribly, tragically awry.
According to police, the killer was a man in his 70s who arrived at the upscale Prince Law Group offices in Summerlin with cold, calculating intentions. Just minutes after the deposition got underway around 10 a.m., the elderly assailant pulled out a firearm and opened fire across the table.
His targets? A 50-year-old man and a 30-year-old woman seated mere feet away.
“It appears our two victims were very specific targets of this shooter,” a grim-faced Lt. Jason Johansson told reporters, the chaos still fresh. “This was not an indiscriminate attack.”
When the thunderous gunshots began ripping through the air, the other five people in the room watched in frozen horror. Then instinct kicked in – sheer panic driving them to flee, to somehow find safety and rush to call 911. But for two victims, it was already too late.
“Oh my God, he just started shooting at them!” one shaken witness was overheard telling police, according to a person briefed on the investigation. “They never even had a chance…”
Within minutes, the modern mid-rise office building on Charleston Boulevard near the famous Summerlin Parkway was swarmed by tactical police forces. Blue and red lights flooded the ordinarily peaceful neighborhood as SWAT teams moved in, desperate to contain the threat.
But their intervention came too late for the two victims now lying bloodied and lifeless. The shooter had already turned his weapon on himself, taking his own disturbed life with the same brutal finality.
While Las Vegas police have not officially confirmed identities, sources indicate the deceased were none other than prominent local attorney Dennis Prince and his wife, Ashley Prince. The couple left behind four young children who have now been robbed of both parents in a senseless act of violence.
“Dennis was a wonderful father to four kids,” his former law partner Robert Eglet said, his voice thick with grief. “His death is not just a loss to his family, but also to our community.”
As evening fell over Las Vegas, those who knew the accomplished lawyer struggled to make sense of the nightmarish events. Well-respected in legal circles, Prince was described as “one of the finest in our state” by his friend, political consultant Tom Letizia.
“The news has profoundly shocked me and our entire community,” Letizia told reporters, visibly shaken. “We are all in mourning.”
While a clear motive remains unknown, the trail of destruction suggests the custody hearing may have been a trigger point. Police say the septuagenarian shooter arrived at the law offices with those “very specific targets” in mind – unleashing his rampage almost as soon as the proceedings began.
Lt. Johansson revealed seven people were present for the deposition at suite 560, the listed address for Prince’s law firm. After the elderly assailant fired repeatedly at the two victims, the five survivors fled in terror and called for help.
In the immediate aftermath, a SWAT team scoured every corner of the building as they worked to ensure no further threats remained. Police also towed away the killer’s red Ford Expedition from the parking lot, no doubt hoping to uncover clues about his background and impetus within.
For now, more questions than answers linger over this burst of intense violence. What could drive a 70-year-old man to commit such a calculated double homicide? How could a seemingly routine court date take such a horrifying turn?
As Las Vegas mourns the tragic loss of two of its own, grief counselors are being brought in to offer support. The Prince family and law firm staff have been left traumatized by the despicable act of carnage they’ve endured.
In the brilliant desert lights of Sin City, such depravity seems shockingly out of place. Las Vegas is no stranger to crime and danger, but this brazen shooting cuts to the core of the legal community – a small tribe of lawyers, judges and professionals operating in the world’s bylaws.
On the famous Las Vegas Strip, indulgences take many forms as tourists seek fortunes and fugitive thrills. But at the Prince Law Group firm, those fairy tales of fun and fortune came crashing down in the most gut-wrenching way imaginable.
Now a devastated family must grapple with unimaginable loss, even as an entire community of legal professionals begins the somber journey of wading through this unspeakable wreckage. Las Vegas has been left reeling in the aftermath, its glitzy facade shattered by the tragic deaths of two of its own.
