Driver charged with murder after 11-year-old boy killed during ‘road rage’ attack on the way to school
An angry driver shot and killed an 11-year-old boy who was on his way to school in a “road rage” incident outside of Las Vegas, according to police in Nevada.
Tyler Matthew Johns, 22, was arrested Friday and charged with murder and two gun offenses over the incident, city records show.
“An 11-year-old was on his way to school and this senseless act took his life,” Henderson Police Chief Reggie Rader said at a news conference.
“I would rather you be stuck in traffic and late for your destination than have to go to a funeral for a loved one or potentially spend the rest of your life in prison.”
Johns and the slain boy’s stepfather were “jockeying for positions” in heavy traffic heading westbound on Interstate 215 around 7:30 a.m. Friday, according to police.
The drivers then rolled down their windows and had a heated exchange, police said.
Johns, driving a four-door sedan, then allegedly pulled out a handgun and fired a single round into the man’s SUV, striking the child in the back seat.
The boy was treated by Henderson Fire Department first responders and staff at the University Medical Center but later died of his injuries.
Police have not released the names of the boy or his stepfather.
Johns had his first court appearance on Saturday and was returned to police custody.
He does not currently have any bail amount set, city records show.
The 22-year-old’s mother declined to comment when reached by The Independent for comment.
Johns is due back in court on Tuesday.
Road rage shootings have recently been on the rise, according to the advocacy organization Everytown for Gun Safety, with such killings doubling between 2018 and 2023, when 118 people were killed.
“Research has found that motorists with a gun are more likely to exhibit road rage, such as making obscene gestures and cutting off other cars,” the group wrote about the topic. “Just the presence of a gun in the car is associated with a greater likelihood of dangerous driving.”
Between 2015 and 2024, 51 people were killed in road rage shootings in Nevada, according to the Gun Violence Archive.
The states with the highest concentration of such killings include New Mexico, Wisconsin, Tennessee, and Texas, per the data.
In a 2025 survey from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, 96 percent of drivers admitted to aggressive driving behaviors over the past year, 11 percent of whom said they committed violent actions like intentionally ramming another car.
About half of Americans say people in their area have been driving more dangerously since the Covid pandemic, Pew Research found in 2024.
