Christopher Perry and Valencia Hampton, both 32, were dedicated co-parents to their middle-school-aged son in Henderson, Nevada. Though they lived in separate apartments, they maintained a close relationship to raise their child. Perry, a male, lived with his father and brother, who described Christopher’s relationship with his son's uncle as a good one. Hampton lived with her son and her younger brother, Andre D’Jallon Thigpen Jr.
This living arrangement in Hampton's apartment at the Cascade Apartments on Center Street would soon become the epicenter of a tragedy that would shatter their family.
The morning of Friday, October 23, 2026, began with simmering tension inside the home. According to police reports, arguments had been escalating between Hampton and her 22-year-old brother, Thigpen. The disputes centered on what family members described as Thigpen's lack of personal hygiene and his failure to clean up after himself. Two nights prior, an argument had reportedly turned physical, with Thigpen poking his sister until she struck him, followed by a struggle over a door. On this Friday morning, the conflict reignited. Perry was at the apartment, and he joined the argument. Their son witnessed the discord before he left for school on his e-scooter, leaving the three adults "partially talking, partially arguing" in the living room. It was the last time he would see his parents alive.
Around 7 a.m., neighbors in the 1000 block of Center Street called 911 to report the sound of multiple gunshots. One witness saw a man in a red jacket fleeing the apartment and driving away in a white SUV. When Henderson Police Department officers arrived, they found a horrific scene. Christopher Perry and Valencia Hampton had both been shot multiple times. Despite life-saving efforts by the Henderson Fire Department, they were pronounced dead at the scene. The Clark County coroner’s office would later confirm their deaths as homicides caused by multiple gunshot wounds. Investigators at the apartment recovered 13 9mm cartridge casings.
The investigation quickly focused on Andre Thigpen. Minutes after the shooting, police were alerted to a car crash on Lake Mead Parkway near Lake Las Vegas. The vehicle, a white Volkswagen Tiguan registered to Valencia Hampton, had crashed into a bike shop. The driver, identified as Thigpen, fled the scene on foot. Henderson police located and arrested him about two hours after the shooting. He was wearing a jacket that matched the witness's description and was carrying a backpack. Inside, investigators found a black 9mm handgun and ammunition that matched the shell casings discovered in the apartment where his sister and her partner lay dead.
Andre D’Jallon Thigpen Jr. was booked into the Henderson Detention Center and charged with two counts of open murder with a deadly weapon, hit-and-run, and three felony counts of discharging a firearm from within a structure. During an initial court appearance the following Tuesday, he was ordered to be held without bail. A public defender was appointed to his case, and he waived his right to a speedy preliminary hearing. Family members of both Perry and Hampton were present and visibly emotional in the courtroom. Thigpen declined to speak with detectives following his arrest.
The double homicide capped a particularly violent week in Henderson, which saw five lives lost in three separate shootings, leaving residents shaken. One neighbor told a local news channel, "It definitely got me and the neighbors shook up." The case against Thigpen was scheduled for a status check hearing on December 1, 2026. As of that month, the legal proceedings were ongoing.
