Soldier kills himself after shooting wife

Angela Soo and Ed Koch

Monday, Oct. 29, 2001 | 10:22 a.m.

A Texas soldier shot himself to death Sunday after wounding his wife at her parents' Las Vegas home, Metro Police said.

The 25-year-old soldier, who was stationed at Fort Hood, Texas, was found dead in the home near El Capitan Way and Alexander Road about 1 p.m. Sunday, 2 1/2 hours after shooting his 23-year-old wife, Metro homicide Sgt. Rocky Alby said today.

An autopsy was to be conducted today by the Clark County coroner's office, which is not releasing his name pending positive identification. Alby said if evidence from the autopsy is consistent with what police were told at the shooting scene, the case will be closed.

"They were in the process of separating, and he apparently was angry over the separation," Alby said, noting that the woman had been living with her husband in Texas until she recently left him to go to the home of her parents, who are longtime Las Vegans.

The woman, who was wounded at the home in the 4000 block of Mansion Hall Court, was taken to University Medical Center, where she was in serious condition today in the trauma intensive care unit with wounds in her face and chest.

The man, who was on leave from military duty, shot the woman with a 9 mm handgun at 10:35 a.m. after entering the home where the woman was with relatives and other friends, Alby said.

Metro SWAT team members were called to the scene, where negotiators failed to make contact with the man for more than two hours. Alby said it was determined the man was dead during the time Metro tried to contact him and negotiate his surrender.

Alby said police entered the house and found the body.