Lakeisha
Holloway, 24, told authorities she was stressed out after being chased
by security guards from parking lots where she had been trying to sleep
before the crash, according to a police report obtained on Monday.
She
had arrived in the Nevada city from Portland, Oregon, with her 3 year
old daughter about a week ago, and had been living inside her 1996
Oldsmobile car, parking it at garages throughout the city, Clark County
Sheriff Joe Lombardo said.
At a press conference at 10am PST on Monday, Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson said initial charges include murder with use of a deadly weapon as well as multiple counts of attempted murder with a deadly weapon, child abuse or neglect and failure to remain at the scene of an accident.
At a press conference at 10am PST on Monday, Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson said initial charges include murder with use of a deadly weapon as well as multiple counts of attempted murder with a deadly weapon, child abuse or neglect and failure to remain at the scene of an accident.
He
said: 'When a person drives a 2,000-pound-plus motor vehicle
intentionally onto a sidewalk, killing and injuring scores of people,
that's murder.' Holloway is being held without bail at Clark County
Jail.
While
the motive remains unclear, Sheriff Joseph Lombardo said he does not
believe the incident was a case of terrorism. However, he said he was
not able to absolutely rule out terrorism at this stage due to a lack of
information about the suspect.
Authorities said people jumped on the car and banged on its windows as it plowed through pedestrians on the sidewalk.
Lombardo
told reporters that Holloway was stoic and didn't appear to be
distressed when she was arrested. He said she told a valet at a hotel to
call 911 after she mowed down people on Las Vegas Boulevard.
He
added Holloway had made statements about her motive at the scene, but
was 'not comfortable' with divulging those comments. However, he
insisted that those statements did not suggest the motive was terrorism.
Authorities
said they were struggling to piece together Holloway's background. She
changed her name to Paris Paradise Morton in October, according to
Oregon court records.
He said Holloway had alluded to a 'disassociation' with the father of her child, who is now in protective custody.
She
did not appear to be under the influence of alcohol, police said, but a
drug recognition expert on the scene determined Holloway was under the
influence of a 'stimulant,' although blood test results are pending.
Holloway
told authorities that she had been in Las Vegas for around a week,
Lombardo added, and police believe she was living in her vehicle with
her daughter. Lombardo said she was thought to have been passing through
Las Vegas on her way to find the child's estranged father in Texas.
According
to TMZ Holloway is a model, who was in Sin City for work. She had just
started a clothing line, but it is not clear if she was modeling her own
lothes or picking up work elsewhere.
Earlier
on Monday, Clark County Coroner John Fudenberg identified Valenzuela,
32, of Buckeye, Arizona, as the woman who died. The coroner said the
suburban Phoenix woman was visiting Las Vegas with her husband. The
couple had celebrated their ten-year wedding anniversary earlier this
month.
A cause of death is pending, with an autopsy scheduled for Monday.
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