SPARKS, NV — A teenage girl called 911 early Monday to say her father had shot her mother while the family was driving in Sparks, triggering a police pursuit that ended in a suspected murder-suicide, according to Sparks police.
Officers responded at about 12:39 a.m. Oct. 19 near Veterans Parkway and East Greg Street after the teen reported that her mother was critically injured and that she was still inside the vehicle. Police said the girl’s identity is being withheld. Detectives later identified the suspect as Richard Avalos-Flores and the victim as Lorea Angulo.
Police locate the vehicle and try to stop it
Roughly eight minutes after the first emergency call, officers found the suspect vehicle on Los Altos Parkway and tried to pull it over, police said. Instead of stopping, Avalos-Flores drove away, leading officers onto Pyramid Highway.
Police said they used a Pursuit Intervention Technique to bring the vehicle to a stop. The tactic is used to disable a fleeing car and end a chase when officers decide it is necessary for public safety.
Authorities have not said how long the pursuit lasted or how many officers were involved. The focus of the investigation remains on what happened inside the car before and after the stop.
Teenager is removed from the car unharmed
After the vehicle stopped, police said Avalos-Flores ignored repeated commands from officers. He then suffered a self-inflicted gunshot wound while still inside the vehicle, according to investigators.
Officers removed the teenage girl from the car and determined she was physically unharmed. Police did not say whether she witnessed the shooting itself, but she was the one who alerted dispatchers to the emergency and remained in the vehicle during the pursuit.
The girl’s call provided officers with the first details of the case and led them to the scene. Her account also set in motion the search that ended with the traffic stop on Pyramid Highway.
Both adults found with gunshot wounds
Inside the vehicle, officers found Angulo with multiple gunshot wounds, police said. Officers provided emergency medical aid to both Avalos-Flores and Angulo at the scene.
Avalos-Flores was pronounced dead where the vehicle stopped. Angulo was taken to a local hospital, where she later died from her injuries. Police have not released additional details about the shooting, including the number of shots fired or the weapon used.
Investigators are treating the case as a possible murder-suicide while they continue to gather evidence and interview witnesses. The sequence of events remains under active review by Sparks police detectives.
Detectives continue active investigation
The Sparks Police Department has taken over the case, and investigators say it remains active and ongoing. That means detectives are still working through the timeline, collecting evidence and looking for any additional witnesses or information that could clarify what happened.
Police urged anyone with information to contact Sparks police detectives or Secret Witness. Officials did not say whether there had been any prior calls involving the family or whether the shooting occurred after a dispute inside the car.
At this stage, authorities have released only the basic facts of the incident and the names of the adults involved. The department has not announced any further public safety threat connected to the case.
What police have said so far about the sequence of events
Based on the timeline provided by police, the emergency call came first, followed by the search for the vehicle, the attempted stop, the pursuit and the fatal shooting inside the car. Officers said the teenager stayed in the vehicle until the stop was made and then was safely taken out.
Police have not provided a motive, and they have not said whether the suspected shooting happened before or during the pursuit. What they have confirmed is that both adults died and that the teen was not physically injured.
The investigation will likely focus on forensic evidence from the vehicle, the scene on Pyramid Highway and the statements collected by detectives. For now, Sparks police are describing the case as an open and active homicide investigation with a possible self-inflicted death by the suspect.
