Corey Montrell Saunders, 19, a Black male, was shot during a confrontation at a south Reno apartment complex and later died from his wounds. Just before 9 p.m. on April 26, 2017, officers were called to The Lodge at McCarran Ranch Apartment Homes at 800 Redfield Parkway, where they found one wounded victim at the complex and discovered a second at the nearby Famous Dave’s Bar-B-Que; both were taken to the hospital. The man who would be identified as Corey was among those gravely injured.
Reports from that night placed the violence in a busy commercial corridor near the Reno-Sparks Convention Center, underscoring how suddenly the gunfire shattered an otherwise ordinary weeknight.
In the hours that followed, detectives began piecing together what happened. Early statements from law enforcement indicated they were probing whether a drug transaction played a role in the double shooting, a line of inquiry that fit the chaotic movements of people and vehicles between the apartment parking lot and the restaurant a short distance away. As investigators canvassed for witnesses and surveillance footage, the nonprofit tip line Secret Witness offered a reward for information leading to the arrest and prosecution of whoever was responsible, signaling that police had not yet made an arrest in the immediate aftermath.
Public records and memorial listings later confirmed Corey’s identity and that he succumbed to his injuries after the attack. While community members left tributes and candles in his memory, authorities did not announce an arrest tied to the shooting in contemporaneous updates, and appeals for tips persisted as the case moved forward. Anyone with knowledge of the suspect or suspects was urged to come forward so investigators could close the distance between rumour and proof and bring accountability for Corey’s death.
