In the early morning hours of April 17, 2016, a street in Las Vegas became the final scene in the life of 29-year-old Javier Rodriguez-Ruiz, a Hispanic/Latino male. Near the intersection of McWilliams and Eastern avenues, an argument broke out between Rodriguez-Ruiz, another man named Edgar Palomino, and two other unidentified men. The verbal confrontation violently escalated when one of the two unidentified men brandished a handgun and opened fire.
Both Rodriguez-Ruiz and 33-year-old
Palomino were struck by multiple gunshots. Emergency services arrived to a grim scene, and the two wounded men were rushed to University Medical Center. Despite the efforts of medical staff, neither man survived their injuries and both were pronounced dead at the hospital.
The assailants fled the scene immediately after the shooting, last seen heading westbound on McWilliams Avenue in the direction of 23rd Street. The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department's Homicide Section took charge of the investigation into the double homicide. However, the trail of the two suspects went cold. In the years that have passed since the fatal shooting, no arrests have been made, and authorities have not released any detailed descriptions or identities of the men responsible for the deaths of Javier Rodriguez-Ruiz and Edgar Palomino. The case remains an open and unsolved investigation.
