Teenage girl dies in apparent accidental shooting by brother

Tuesday, March 30, 2004 | 11:36 a.m.

A 14-year-old Las Vegas girl died after being shot by her 15-year-old brother Monday in an apartment near Eastern and Washington avenues, Metro Police said.

The shooting apparently was accidental, police said.

The victim, identified by the Clark County coroner's office as Erika Mendoza, was pronounced dead at the scene, police said. Clark County School District officials said the girl was a ninth grader at Clark High School.

"She was talkative. She was lively," Mendoza's classmate Julia Perez said Monday night.

Police were called to the apartment complex at 1300 N. 22nd Street about 4:30 p.m., Sgt. Rocky Alby said. The boy had allegedly been playing with a gun and didn't know it was loaded.

Officers questioned the girl's brother, but no charges have been filed. Police are expected to turn the case over to the district attorney's office for review.

A 9mm handgun believed to be the weapon involved in the shooting was brought into the home sometime by a visitor who had purchased it earlier that day, police said.

At the time of the shooting, five people were inside the apartment, most of them teenagers between the ages of 13 and 15, along with one adult. Police questioned them into the evening.

The mother of the two teens apparently was out working as a housekeeper when the shooting occurred. She arrived home Monday evening to find police at her apartment.

"That has to be one of the most heart-wrenching things, to come home and find out one of your kids is dead," neighbor Sheila Wheaton said.

The Trauma Intervention Team of Southern Nevada sent volunteers to help the family and friends at the scene of the shooting, Marian Thomas, TIP coordinator, said.

Ronnie Smith, principal of Clark High School, said the district's crisis counseling team will be on campus Wednesday. The school's ninth graders were not in class Tuesday because sophomores, juniors and seniors were taking a statewide proficiency exam.

"For the children's sake I'm almost glad they are at home today," Smith said. "This gives us an extra day to prepare to help them through this difficult time."