A view of the Prince Law Group where the incident unfolded.
Credit: LinkedIn/Dennis M. Prince
A lawyer fatally shot his former daughter-in-law and her new husband at a Las Vegas law office Monday morning during a deposition in a child custody case, then killed himself, authorities said.
The shooter, Joseph Houston, 77, opened fire just a few minutes into the deposition at the Prince Law Group, a firm on the fifth floor of an office building in the community of Summerlin, the authorities said, killing Ashley Prince, 30, and her husband, Dennis Prince, 57, the founder of the firm, who were sitting across the table from him. The police believe Houston then fatally shot himself.
Authorities did not provide further information about the child custody case, but in a news conference Monday evening, Lt. Jason Johansson of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said the victims appeared to be “very specific targets.” The assailant had “shooed” another person in the room away, he added. “We believe we have a good idea of what the motive is right now,” he said, but did not offer further details.
The Prince Law Group did not respond to requests for comment Monday afternoon, but in a statement at the top of its website it thanked people for messages of concern and sympathy “over the tragic violence” at its offices. It lists Dennis Prince as the firm’s founding member and “lead trial counsel.”
Public records show that the shooter’s son, Dylan Houston, has two children with Ashley Prince, whom he divorced in 2021. Neither he nor his family members could be immediately reached by phone Monday afternoon.
A law firm at an address affiliated with the elder Houston said that it had “no comment.”
Two of the victims’ relatives refused to comment when reached by phone Monday afternoon. Other family members could not be reached Monday and Tuesday.
Footage from the local ABC station showed employees who were inside the six-story office building lingering across the street as officers investigated.
The sheriff said that hundreds of people had been evacuated.