A 20-year-old woman and a 1-year-old girl were fatally shot inside an SUV in the Southern Highlands area late Monday night after officers heard gunfire during a nearby traffic stop, police said.
The Clark County coroner identified the victims as Danaijha Robinson, 20, and Nhalani Hiner, 1, and ruled both deaths homicides. Police have not named a suspect or said what led up to the shooting. Detectives are also looking at whether an arrest in Utah during a stolen vehicle case could be connected, but authorities have not announced any charges in Nevada.
Las Vegas Metropolitan Police said patrol officers were conducting a vehicle stop at about 9:08 p.m. Monday, March 2, near Starr Avenue and Interstate 15 when they heard gunfire nearby. At the same time, police dispatch received multiple reports of shots in the same area, the department said. Officers canvassed nearby streets and found a vehicle with what police described as several apparent bullet impacts in the 11000 block of Victoria Medici Street. A woman and a toddler were inside the SUV, both suffering from apparent gunshot wounds, police said. Homicide Lt. Robert Price later described the moment officers spotted the vehicle, saying they “located a vehicle that had several impacts from gunfire” as they turned into the neighborhood.
Paramedics took the victims to a hospital, where they were pronounced dead, police said. Investigators have not said whether the SUV was moving or parked when it was hit, or whether the shots came from another vehicle or from someone on foot. Police have also not released a description of a suspect or a suspect vehicle. In an early briefing, Price said detectives did not have a motive and had no one in custody. Police said they believed the woman and child were related, but Price told reporters the woman was not believed to be the child’s mother. The deaths drew swift attention because the victims included a toddler and because the shooting happened on a residential street in a neighborhood many residents describe as quiet.
The shooting scene sits in the southwest Las Vegas Valley near major roads that feed the Southern Highlands area, including Starr Avenue and Dean Martin Drive. Police and reporters said patrol cars, fire crews and ambulances filled the street as investigators worked behind tape and searched for witnesses. In the hours after the shooting, officers went door to door looking for anyone who heard the shots and for home security video that might show what happened before and after the gunfire. Police have not said how many shots were fired or whether they recovered shell casings from the street. They also have not said whether Robinson or the child had any link to the traffic stop officers were handling when the shots rang out.
By Wednesday, investigators were also weighing developments outside Nevada. News outlets in Las Vegas reported that Ogden City Police arrested a suspect in Utah after an officer located a stolen black Mazda CX-9 with Arizona plates and a pursuit followed. Police said the driver sped away, ran a red light and ignored stop signs before briefly getting away, then fleeing on foot before officers caught him. During the pursuit, Ogden police learned the suspect was wanted in a Las Vegas homicide investigation, and the vehicle was towed to Las Vegas to be held in a secure area for a search, according to an arrest report described by local media. Las Vegas police have not publicly named the suspect or said the person has been booked in Clark County in connection with the Robinson and Hiner killings.
Neighbors said the violence felt sudden and out of place. Jean Paul Paquet, who lives on Victoria Medici Street, told local television he woke up to gunshots and later saw shattered glass near the SUV. “We saw the car with the windows blasted out,” Paquet said. Another neighbor, identified only as Troy, told KLAS-TV he heard a few shots, a short pause, and then more. Family members told local stations Robinson had been caring for a friend’s toddler that night and stopped nearby when another vehicle in their group was pulled over by police, though authorities have not confirmed that account. A GoFundMe started in Robinson’s name said she was killed while watching a friend’s toddler and listed funeral and burial costs among the reasons for raising money.
As of Wednesday night, March 4, police said the investigation remained active, with no publicly stated motive and no announced arrests in Nevada. Detectives were expected to keep reviewing video, interviewing witnesses and tracking any results from the Utah case as they work to identify who fired the shots on Victoria Medici Street.
Author note: Last updated March 4, 2026.