Violence Against Children

Las Vegas police say a woman in her mid‑30s fatally shot her pre‑teen daughter and then herself in a room at the Rio Hotel & Casino on Sunday after the pair traveled from Utah to Las Vegas for a dance or cheer competition. LVMPD homicide Lt. Robert Price told reporters officers first went to the room around 10:45 a.m. for a welfare check, knocked and called out for 15–20 minutes, then left after getting no response; hotel security, prompted by renewed concerns from family and friends, re‑entered around 2:30 p.m. and found both bodies. Investigators recovered a note in the room but declined to disclose its contents while the case remains open. Utah Xtreme Cheer, which had earlier circulated a missing‑persons alert for Tawnia McGeehan and daughter Addi Smith, later posted that 'Addi has passed away,' though Las Vegas police have not publicly confirmed the identities. The case is drawing attention in Utah and Nevada cheer communities and raises hard questions online about how welfare checks are handled when family fears self‑harm but police find no immediate signs of distress at the door.