Police say the pair were shot inside a vehicle on Victoria Medici Street and investigators still have no suspect.
LAS VEGAS — A lawyer representing relatives identified the woman killed alongside a toddler in a south Las Vegas shooting as 20-year-old Danaijha Robinson, as police pressed for tips and searched for video in a case that remains without a suspect or publicly known motive.
The deaths of Robinson and the toddler, who police said was not her child, have raised urgent questions about how gunfire reached a residential street near Starr Avenue and Dean Martin Drive around 9 p.m. Monday. Las Vegas Metropolitan Police said officers were already nearby on a traffic stop when shots rang out and they rushed to the neighborhood, finding the victims inside a vehicle that had been hit multiple times. Investigators said they are now working to confirm relationships, track movements, and identify whoever fired into the car.
Police said officers conducting a routine traffic stop near Starr Avenue and Dean Martin Drive heard gunfire at about 9 p.m. Monday and drove toward the sound. Homicide Lt. Robert Price said officers entered the nearby neighborhood and located a vehicle with several bullet impacts in the 11000 block of Victoria Medici Street. Inside were a woman in her 20s and a toddler, both struck by gunfire, Price said. Officers provided emergency care until medical personnel arrived, and both victims were transported to University Medical Center where they were pronounced dead, police said. The shooting happened quickly enough that neighbors said they went from quiet evening routines to the glare of emergency lights in minutes.
Robinson’s name spread first through family channels and online memorial posts, then through local reporting that cited a lawyer for the family. A fundraiser description said Robinson had been watching the toddler, and Price said investigators believed the woman and child were related but that she was not the child’s mother. Police have not released the toddler’s identity or said where the child lived. They also have not explained why the two were in the SUV at that location, or whether they had just arrived or were preparing to leave. Price said confirming those details is part of the ongoing investigation and could help detectives understand whether the victims were targeted or were caught in a broader burst of violence.
Relatives also shared an account of the moments before the shooting that police have not publicly confirmed. Robinson’s sister told a local station that the group had been leaving a friend’s home in the Southern Highlands area in two cars. The sister said one car was pulled over, and Robinson, traveling separately, stopped nearby. According to that account, shots were then fired into Robinson’s vehicle. Police have not said whether the gunfire came from a passing vehicle, from someone on foot, or from another nearby street, and they have not said whether anyone else was injured. A source close to the investigation told local media that the car involved in the traffic stop is connected to the car in which Robinson and the toddler were killed, but police have not described the nature of that connection.
On Victoria Medici Street, residents described a scene of sudden violence and lingering cleanup. Jean Paul Paquet said he woke to gunfire and then saw a damaged vehicle outside, its windows shattered. “We woke up, and the dog was barking, and we looked out the window,” Paquet said. “We saw the car with the windows blasted out.” Paquet said he later found himself hosing blood and glass from the curb as investigators worked nearby. Another neighbor, who identified himself only as Troy, said the shots sounded like they came in two bursts. “I heard three and then like two seconds later, the rest,” he said. Several neighbors said they did not want to appear on camera but described heartbreak after learning a toddler had been killed.
Police have not released a description of a suspect, a suspect vehicle, or clothing that could help identify who fired the shots. They also have not said whether the shooter fled toward Dean Martin Drive, toward Starr Avenue, or deeper into the neighborhood streets. Detectives canvassed the area for security video and asked residents to check doorbell cameras. Investigators also began interviewing people connected to Robinson, and they sought to confirm who the toddler was, who had custody that night, and how the child came to be in the vehicle. Police have not said whether they believe the shooting was tied to a dispute, mistaken identity, or another crime, and they have not said whether the victims were being followed.
Investigators said the neighborhood’s location makes video and witness information especially important. The streets around Starr Avenue and Dean Martin Drive feed traffic to and from Interstate 15, and drivers often move through the area late at night. Detectives want to know whether any passing motorists saw flashes, heard shots, or noticed a vehicle accelerating away. Police also are looking at the timing of the traffic stop because officers were already positioned nearby when the gunfire erupted. Price said early on that police did not have a motive, and by Tuesday afternoon authorities still had not publicly identified any suspects.
Police said anyone with information should contact the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Homicide Section at 702-828-3521 or email homicide@lvmpd.com. Anonymous tips can be submitted through Crime Stoppers at 702-385-5555. Detectives said the next steps include reviewing any surveillance video recovered from homes and nearby businesses, completing interviews with family members and others connected to the victims, and analyzing physical evidence from the vehicle and the street. Police have not announced a reward, and they have not set a date for the next public update.
As of Wednesday, investigators said they were still seeking a suspect and urged anyone who was in the area near Victoria Medici Street around 9 p.m. Monday to share what they saw or heard. Police said the next milestone is a clearer timeline built from video and witness accounts as detectives work to determine who fired into the SUV and why.
Author note: Last updated March 4, 2026.