On Halloween night 2024, a family outing at the Vancouver Mall for a trick-or-treat event ended when 27-year-old James Perez was shot dead in the second-floor food court. Perez had become separated from his autistic son and was looking for him when a man wearing a Joker-style Halloween mask began following him. Around 7:30 p.m. the masked man shot Perez in the back of the head at point-blank range and then fired additional rounds into his body, sparking panic among families in the area.

Two bystanders, Daniel Martin and Brandon Leyrer, were also struck by gunfire or fragments; both suffered non-life-threatening injuries and were treated at a hospital. Surveillance footage showed the shooter stalking Perez before the killing. The shooter left the mall with his mother, girlfriend, and a young child immediately after the attack.

Police arrested 32-year-old Travis L. Ward on November 2, 2024, and charged him with first-degree murder in Perez’s death, two counts of first-degree assault, and later a witness-tampering charge related to alleged calls instructing his girlfriend not to cooperate. Ward pleaded not guilty.

If anyone was at the Vancouver Mall that Halloween evening and saw Perez, the movements of the masked man, or the group that left with the shooter, what information can be shared with investigators?