Shawna McCowan was a 43-year-old Caucasian woman, a married mother to one son, and a person who connected easily with others. Her sister remembered her as someone who "could literally find a way to speak to anybody about anything." Shawna worked as both a teacher in Aurora, Colorado, and a flight attendant for United Airlines, which meant she divided her time between her home state and her work hub in Las Vegas.
She leaves behind her husband, Lazslo, and their son, Lazslo Jr.
On the evening of April 23, 2023, Shawna was in Las Vegas visiting friends. Around 8:57 p.m., she was taking a walk with her boyfriend and their dogs in the Southern Highlands neighborhood. As they walked along Bella Lante Avenue, a black sedan with its headlights off turned onto the street. A passenger leaned out of a window and began firing a handgun. Shawna was struck by gunfire in the back and neck. She was transported to University Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead. The coroner later confirmed her cause of death was a homicide due to gunshot wounds to the torso and neck.
Investigators quickly determined that Shawna was an innocent bystander caught in the crossfire. The gunfire was aimed at two other teenagers who were walking on the same sidewalk. The shooting was the culmination of a dispute that had started earlier in the day at a nearby apartment complex, reportedly over a stolen "ghost gun." Surveillance video showed the shooter firing nearly two dozen shots from the moving car. Shawna was the only person hit.
The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department identified four suspects in connection with the murder. The alleged gunman, Kevin Perez-Stubbs, who was 16 at the time, was arrested in May 2023. His older brother, 19-year-old Johnathan Perez-Stubbs, and another teen, 17-year-old Mezarius Finch, were arrested in October 2023. The fourth suspect, 19-year-old Tyshean Tillman, was taken into custody in January 2024. All four faced charges including murder, attempted murder, and conspiracy to commit murder. The three youngest suspects were certified to be tried as adults.
As of March 2024, the case had seen significant developments in court. The teenagers involved in the shooting, other than the accused gunman, had accepted plea deals. Kevin Perez-Stubbs, who faces charges of murder and conspiracy to commit murder, was scheduled to stand trial in June 2024.
