On February 9, 2024, the life of Justin Reid, a 39-year-old male, was violently cut short inside his family’s apartment in the Stead neighborhood of Reno, Nevada. The attack, which also claimed the life of his young son, was not a random act of violence but one that authorities would soon learn was carried out by a member of his own family.
The tragedy began to unfold around 4 p.m. when neighbors reported hearing arguing followed by gunshots.
Police dispatch then received a chilling 911 call from Justin's 17-year-old daughter, Mashenka Ann Marie Reid. She told the dispatcher, "I shot my dad. I shot my brother. My brother is dead." When asked why, she reportedly said she "couldn't control the urge to kill somebody."
According to court documents, Mashenka had planned the attack. She told police she sent her father to the store for pizza supplies as a stalling tactic. While he was gone, she retrieved his Walther PPS handgun from his room, used Google to learn how to operate it, and locked her 2-year-old sister in a bedroom for safety. She then waited by the garage door and shot her father multiple times as he returned home. Afterward, she went to the living room and shot her younger brother, who was autistic and playing on a tablet.
When Reno police officers arrived at the apartment on Silver Sky Parkway, they found Justin Reid in the garage with gunshot wounds to his chest and back. His son, who was approximately four or five years old, was on the living room couch with a gunshot wound to the head. The Washoe County Medical Examiner's Office later confirmed that Justin died from multiple gunshot wounds. Investigators also learned that after running out of bullets, Mashenka had retrieved a knife with the intention of killing her 2-year-old sister but was unable to get into the locked room.
During a jail interview, Mashenka told authorities that she had been "set off" and experienced extreme depression after her mother left the family in December. She also expressed growing frustration with having to care for her non-verbal brother, who she said made "annoying noises."
Mashenka Reid was arrested at the scene. She was charged as an adult with two counts of open murder with a deadly weapon and one count of attempted murder with a deadly weapon. She pleaded not guilty to the charges. As of February 2024, the case remained pending in court.
