Rancho High School alerted families and offered counseling resources after a 15-year-old girl was critically wounded nearby.
LAS VEGAS, Nev. — A shooting that critically wounded a 15-year-old girl near Rancho High School and Bracken Elementary School prompted concern in the surrounding neighborhood and a message to school families as police arrested another teenage girl in the case.
Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department officers responded at about 3:48 p.m. Thursday to Mews Lane and Searles Avenue after reports of gunfire. Officers found a female victim with a gunshot wound, and paramedics took her to a local hospital. Police later confirmed that the victim was a juvenile and was in critical condition.
KLAS-TV reported that the victim, who is 15, had been walking home from school when she was shot in the face. The location is less than half a mile from Rancho High School and immediately next to Bracken Elementary School, placing the police response close to campuses and homes at a time when students were leaving school.
Rancho High School Principal Norm Smith sent families a message acknowledging the police investigation near Eastern and Searles avenues. The school said the incident happened near homes within its attendance zone and that some students could be affected. Counseling resources were made available to students who needed support.
The school said it did not have further details because the case was being handled by Metro police. The Clark County School District also directed questions about the shooting to law enforcement. Authorities have not said that the shooting occurred on school property.
Residents and witnesses described a chaotic scene as police and medical personnel arrived. Kathryn Roszko told KLAS that children flagged her down as she drove past shortly after the gunfire. She said two children were calling for help and that an officer who arrived at about the same time immediately began helping the wounded girl.
Roszko said children at the scene told her the violence followed an altercation involving two groups of teenagers near a McDonald’s. She said the children described the groups later meeting in an alley, where a firearm was produced. Police had not publicly confirmed that account or announced a motive as of Saturday.
A neighbor who spoke to KLAS without being identified said his young daughter had been outside when the shooting occurred. According to the child’s account relayed by the neighbor, the victim was moving between parked vehicles before she was shot. Investigators have not publicly detailed the precise sequence of the shooting.
Police said the person responsible fled before officers arrived. By Friday, a female juvenile had been arrested in connection with the case. KLAS reported that the suspect is also 15 and appeared in juvenile court on an attempted murder charge, where a prosecutor alleged that a shotgun was used.
Neither teenager has been publicly identified. Police have not released additional information about a possible motive, the firearm or other evidence in the case. The victim remained hospitalized in critical condition in the latest public update, while the shooting continued to be investigated.
Author note: Last updated October 3, 2026.