A Las Vegas-area lawyer fatally shot his former daughter-in-law and the man representing her during a child custody deposition hearing, and then allegedly turned the gun on himself, according to court documents.
The gunfire erupted on the fifth floor of the Prince Law Group office in Summerlin on Monday around 10 a.m., police Lt. Jason Johansson said in a news conference. Seven people were present in the suite at the time, according to documents obtained by KLAS: a court reporter and three people representing each party, including shooter Joe Houston II.
Houston had been representing his son, Dylan Houston, in the proceedings. They were just minutes into the custody case when the elder Houston stood up and started shooting at two people across from him, sources told the news station. Dylan Houston’s ex-wife, Ashley Prince, and her husband, Dennis Prince — who was also serving as her attorney — were both fatally struck in the gunfire while the others managed to escape without injury.
Ashley had filed for sole custody of the children she shared with Dylan the same morning she was killed, court documents show.
“It appears our two victims were very specific targets,” Johansson told reporters.
Johansson said the gunman was also found dead on the scene and that he likely died by suicide.
While authorities have not confirmed the identities of anyone involved, they have been named by multiple local media outlets.
According to divorce documents obtained by KTNV, Ashley Prince and Dylan Houston were married in 2017. They had two children together before Dylan filed for divorce four years later. While they initially agreed to split custody, Ashley sought to have their agreement modified in 2022, after Dylan tested positive for cocaine and alcohol while he had custody of the kids. He was also arrested in 2020 on a DUI charge, which was later pleaded down to reckless driving, per court documents.
Ashley was ultimately granted an order of protection against her ex-husband, who was told to remain at least 100 yards away from the mother of his children and undergo regular drug and alcohol screenings.
After Monday’s shooting, a member of Ashley’s family was granted custody of the couple’s children by way of emergency order. They were not present when the deadly violence occurred.
The next hearing related to the custody case is scheduled for later in April.
With News Wire Services
