On Tuesday, November 3, 2020, 12-year-old Joseph Lehab Hawatmeh was killed during a violent incident at his family’s apartment in Henderson, Nevada. According to reports, an upstairs neighbor, 38-year-old Jason Neo Bourne, forced entry into the Hawatmeh residence and opened fire, killing Joseph’s mother, 38-year-old Dianne Hawatmeh, and a housekeeper, 33-year-old Veronica Muniz. Joseph’s 16-year-old sister, Yasmeen, was critically injured.

Bourne then abducted Joseph and left in the family’s Cadillac Escalade. As police surrounded the vehicle, Bourne reportedly held Joseph at gunpoint and made a 911 demand for a helicopter. During an exchange of gunfire involving seven Henderson Police Department officers, both Bourne and Joseph were fatally wounded; an autopsy found Joseph died of gunshot wounds to the head and chest. No arrests were made because Bourne was killed at the scene.

The Clark County District Attorney’s Office declined to charge the officers. The boy’s father later filed a federal wrongful-death lawsuit against the city and the police department; a judge dismissed the civil rights claims against the officers. Does anyone have firsthand information about the family or the apartment complex from that time?