Dennis Prince Las Vegas attorney and wife Ashley Prince shot dead by Joe Houston who then kills self at Summerlin law offices in custody case.
A prominent Las Vegas trial attorney and his wife were identified as two of the three individuals killed at a law office on Monday relating to an impending child custody case.
Dennis Prince and his wife, Ashley Prince, were shot dead inside the offices of Prince Law Group in Summerlin when another attorney opened gunfire during a deposition before turning the gun on himself.
Robert Eglet, Prince’s former law partner, described him as ‘one of the best trial lawyers in the state.’
Las Vegas ex father in law, 77, who shot attorney had terminal cancer & druggie son who Ashley Prince dumped
A shooting Monday inside a law office in the affluent Summerlin neighborhood of Las Vegas left three people dead, including the shooter, police said. pic.twitter.com/w23EvmNlVi
— CBS Evening News (@CBSEveningNews) April 8, 2024
Gunman id as victim’s former father in law previously married to his son
‘It’s a real loss to the community,’ Eglet told the Las Vegas Review Journal. ‘It’s awful. It’s a loss to our profession.
‘This is every family’s nightmare, something like this happening. I’m still trying to put my arms around the fact that this actually happened.’
Speaking to KTNV, sources confirmed the gunman’s identity as another attorney, Joe Houston, who fatally shot the couple before taking his own life in a suspected murder-suicide.
Ashley Prince was Houston’s former daughter-in-law, the sources revealed.
Houston and the Princes were present for a deposition Monday in a child custody case involving Ashley and Houston’s son, Dylan — who had been previously married to Ashley.
Top Las Vegas attorney was representing new wife in custody case
The former couple have two young children together, with records showing Dylan filing for divorce in 2021.
Of note, Prince was representing his wife in the case, sources said.
Clark County Sheriff Kevin McMahill said the shooting occurred at around 10 am on the firm’s offices on the fifth floor.
As bullets flew, hundreds of other occupants sheltered in place. Officials later passed through the building and safely evacuated them.
‘As you can imagine we have a five or six-story building,’ McMahill told KLAS.
‘We have people that are hunkered down following active shooter protocols. We’re going door by door and making sure everybody in there is okay and evacuating them.’
Nevada Trial Lawyer of the Year
An area for family reunifications was established on the fifth floor of the Red Rock Resort, just down the street from the office.
According to a biography on the law firm’s website, Prince was the founding member and lead trial counsel on all major cases.
He was recognized as the Nevada Trial Lawyer of the Year in 2016 by the Nevada Justice Association and had tried more than 100 cases to jury verdict at the time of his death.
GGRM Law Firm, a personal injury attorney based in Winchester, released a statement after news broke of the couple’s death.
‘Our esteemed colleague, Dennis Prince, and his wife, Ashley, were senselessly taken from us in an act of violence that has left us in shock and mourning,’ the statement read.
‘Dennis was not just a pillar in the legal community; he was a mentor, a friend, and an advocate for justice whose influence reached far beyond the courtroom.
‘Alongside him, Ashley was a source of unwavering kindness and compassion, touching the lives of those around her with genuine warmth and generosity.’
Of note, the slain attorney and newly wedded wife had also recently welcomed a child together.
