A Las Vegas woman has been charged with murder after shooting her boyfriend to death while posing with a gun for a photoshoot, investigators say.
Allysandra Blea, 20, reportedly had a disturbing “fascination with firearms,” and had spoken previously of desires to shoot sex workers and the homeless, according to an arrest report.
Police were called just before 5 a.m. on August 23 following reports of a man who had been shot. When police arrived, they found a man, later identified as 23-year-old Mark Gaughan, lying on the sidewalk with a gunshot wound, and he was later pronounced dead at the scene.
Detectives from the Las Vegas Metro police determined that Gaughan was taking pictures of Blea posing with a gun by a vehicle. During the photoshoot, the gun discharged, and he was shot.
Investigators and the Clark County District Attorney’s Office charged the 20-year-old with open murder with a deadly weapon on Aug. 26. She was arrested without incident that day and booked into the Clark County Detention Center.
Detectives recovered a Polaroid photo of Blea posing with a gun and another of a girl brandishing a knife from the scene, according to the arrest report obtained by Fox 5 Vegas.
The boyfriend of the knife-wielding model, who placed the 911 call, said he had checked the gun had been unloaded and that the magazine had been removed before giving it to Blea.
His girlfriend later claimed that, when she returned outside after changing her outfit for the photoshoot, the magazine was loaded back in the gun, the arrest report stated.
Blea told investigators that the shooting had been an accident and that she believed the gun had had no rounds in during the photoshoot. She also claimed to have taken a gun safety course befor handling the weapon, per Fox5.
However, according to the arrest report, investigators noted that Blea had a “fascination with firearms” following searches of her social media accounts and messages with friends. That included pictures of her posing with different weapons and building up an apparent arsenal of firearms.
In one message, Fox5 reported Blea allegedly wrote, “I wish I could shoot people with real guns and get away with it,” then went on to speak about killing sex workers and homeless people.
When Gaughan suggested the use of dummies for targets, Blea allegedly replied “We gotta shoot someone real. Going to be the tunnels. If it’s only one a night the police will remain clueless,” according to the arrest report.
“In review of her social media account, Allysandra appeared to have knowledge and experience of firearms and more importantly, shooting firearms,” police wrote.
Blea, who has been booked into Clark County Detention Center, is set to appear in court on October 2.
The Independent has reached out to the Las Vegas Metropolitan police for further information or updates on the case.
