Nevada Father's Last Moments With Son: Harrowing Bodycam Shows Anguish After Road Rage

The single, anguished scream captured on police bodycam footage freezes the moment a routine drive to school turned into a catastrophic nightmare.

Valente Ayala's raw cry—'My kid is dead'—is the devastating soundtrack to a senseless tragedy that claimed the life of his 11-year-old stepson, Brandon Dominguez-Chavarria.

The incident unfolded last Friday in Henderson, Nevada, on the outskirts of Las Vegas, after a petty conflict over lane positioning spiralled into a fatal road rage shooting.

The Harrowing Aftermath: Bodycam Footage Captures Road Rage Shooting Anguish

The body camera footage released by the Las Vegas police captured the brutal, immediate aftermath of the tragedy, contrasting the father's overwhelming grief with the shooter's shocking self-awareness.

The footage started with Valente Ayala, the boy's stepfather, crying 'My kid is dead' to a police officer. The police officer responded with utter disbelief, asking: 'He's dead?'

At that precise moment, the suspect, 22-year-old Tyler Matthew Johns, walked up to the officer from the scene of the crime and, unprompted, offered his hands behind his back to be handcuffed. 'Officer, take me,' Johns said.

He immediately confessed to the shooting, adding the devastating phrase: 'I shot at him, bro. I didn't know it was a f***ing kid in the back.' While Johns was cuffed and moved into the police vehicle, Ayala's anguished cries remained audible in the background.

Johns immediately attempted to explain the circumstances: 'We were road raging,' he said. 'He came up around the side, like on the merge.'

He reiterated his full responsibility: 'It's 100 percent my fault. I shot at him, dude. I didn't even know he had a kid in the car.' Later in the video, Johns asked the officer the chilling question: 'Is there any chance that the kid will be okay?'

The veteran officer offered a grim, yet professional, response: 'There's always a chance. I don't know. After 20 years, I've kinda seen everything happen.' He added: 'If you're a praying man, I would be praying a lot for him right now.'

In a moment of surreal detachment, the suspect also asked if he could text his boss to explain that 'he won't be making it in today,' prompting the officer to briefly uncuff Johns so he could use his phone to message his employer.

Senseless Violence: Police Detail Road Rage Shooting That Claimed An 11-Year-Old

Henderson Police Chief Reggie Rader detailed the tragic sequence of events, confirming the Road Rage Shooting began when both vehicles started 'jockeying for positions, trying to pass each other on the congested freeway.'

The simple traffic frustration escalated into a verbal dispute after both drivers rolled down their respective windows. Johns then pulled out a handgun and fired into the back seat of the other vehicle, fatally striking Brandon Dominguez-Chavarria.

Following the shooting, Ayala, the stepfather, desperately 'rammed' Johns' four-door sedan, bringing both cars to a halt in the middle of the road and prompting a second, 'heated exchange.'

Johns was subsequently arrested at the scene of the crime, and his gun was recovered.

Police Chief Rader used the briefing to issue a stern plea to the community about the senseless violence. 'I just want to remind everybody. that we lost a life today that we didn't have to lose. An 11-year-old was on his way to school and this senseless act took his life,' he said.

Rader added: 'I would rather you be stuck in traffic and late for your destination than have to go to a funeral for a loved one, or potentially spend the rest of your life in prison.'

Johns has been charged with open murder, discharging a gun at or into a vehicle, and discharging a gun within a vehicle in a prohibited area.

Authorities explored the possibility of charging Ayala with a crime, but he was ultimately not charged with any wrongdoing. Johns is currently being held without bail and is scheduled to be back in court on December 4.