Current:Home > reviews15-year-old North Dakota runaway shot, killed in Las Vegas while suspect FaceTimed girl -StockPrime
15-year-old North Dakota runaway shot, killed in Las Vegas while suspect FaceTimed girl
View
Date:2025-04-17 01:04:52
A 15-year-old runaway from North Dakota was killed in a Las Vegas apartment while his suspected shooter was showing off his gun to a girl on FaceTime, police said.
Las Vegas Metropolitan Police charged Browdy Lee Shaffer, 18, with James Lobue's murder on Sept. 4. The boy was a runaway from Bismarck, North Dakota, according to a police arrest report obtained by USA TODAY.
Officers found James on Sept. 2 lying inside the apartment from a gunshot wound to the torso, the report says. He was then taken to a hospital for emergency surgery, but despite the efforts of medical personnel, he succumbed to his injuries, the document continued.
Two adults and three juveniles were in the residence when police responded, while body-worn camera video caught "a multitude of juveniles fleeing the apartment upon officer's arrival," according to the report.
It is unclear if Shaffer has a defense attorney.
Browdy Lee Shaffer came to apartment with semiautomatic pistol
A female juvenile in the apartment told police that James and another boy slept in the living room of the apartment the night before the shooting, the report says. Upset that the boys were in the living room, the girl's stepfather poured water on them and woke the pair up, prompting them to leave, the document continued.
The boys would ultimately come back and spend the night in the apartment. Shaffer, who had a semiautomatic pistol with him, came by the apartment the next day to confront the girl's stepfather about him pouring water on his brother, according to the report.
While at the apartment, Shaffer began "play-fighting" with his brother and James in a bedroom, the report says. He then made a FaceTime call to an unknown female and began showing her his gun by "illuminating the flashlight and laser," the document continued.
Loud 'pop' heard, everyone ran out of the apartment
At some point, Shaffer was standing next to James with the gun in his hand when a loud "pop" was heard, according to the report. Everyone then ran out of the room, including James, who collapsed at the front door of the apartment, police said in the report.
While everyone fled from the apartment, Shaffer attempted to help the dying teenager, the report says. Before the police arrived, he went back to the bedroom for an unknown reason and then fled the apartment, according to the document.
Police learned that Shaffer came over to the apartment to fight the girl's stepfather "in the street," the report says. Instead of fighting the stepfather, James died from gunshot wounds to his torso and arm, according to the report, citing the Clark County Coroner.
Shaffer was arrested on Sept. 4 and booked at the Clark County Detention Center.
veryGood! (75)
Related
- Meet first time Grammy nominee Charley Crockett
- Turbulence during Allegiant Air flight hospitalizes 4 in Florida
- As the Livestock Industry Touts Manure-to-Energy Projects, Environmentalists Cry ‘Greenwashing’
- Study: Commuting has an upside and remote workers may be missing out
- 'As foretold in the prophecy': Elon Musk and internet react as Tesla stock hits $420 all
- Is it hot in here, or is it just the new jobs numbers?
- California Has Begun Managing Groundwater Under a New Law. Experts Aren’t Sure It’s Working
- Southern Charm's Taylor Ann Green Honors Late Brother Worth After His Death
- How to watch the 'Blue Bloods' Season 14 finale: Final episode premiere date, cast
- Attention, Wildcats: High School Musical: The Musical: The Series Is Ending After Season 4
Ranking
- Apple iOS 18.2: What to know about top features, including Genmoji, AI updates
- In the Arctic, Less Sea Ice and More Snow on Land Are Pushing Cold Extremes to Eastern North America
- We Need a Little More Conversation About Cailee Spaeny and Jacob Elordi in Priscilla First Trailer
- What’s On Interior’s To-Do List? A Full Plate of Public Lands Issues—and Trump Rollbacks—for Deb Haaland
- Whoopi Goldberg is delightfully vile as Miss Hannigan in ‘Annie’ stage return
- Australia's central bank says it will remove the British monarchy from its bank notes
- Manufacturer recalls eyedrops after possible link to bacterial infections
- A century of fire suppression is worsening wildfires and hurting forests
Recommendation
The Louvre will be renovated and the 'Mona Lisa' will have her own room
Can Rights of Nature Laws Make a Difference? In Ecuador, They Already Are
Whitney Cummings Is Pregnant, Expecting First Baby
Allow Margot Robbie to Give You a Tour of Barbie's Dream House
Taylor Swift Eras Archive site launches on singer's 35th birthday. What is it?
Biden’s Pause of New Federal Oil and Gas Leases May Not Reduce Production, but It Signals a Reckoning With Fossil Fuels
See the Cast of Camp Rock, Then & Now
Maryland’s Capital City Joins a Long Line of Litigants Seeking Climate-Related Damages from the Fossil Fuel Industry