Two teenagers have been arrested and charged with murder in Las Vegas after a deliberate hit-and-run incident that was filmed on video. The incident resulted in the death of a 64-year-old Las Vegas resident, Andreas Rene Probst, who was struck by a stolen car while riding his bike. The shocking incident, which took place on August 14, also involved the intentional striking of a 72-year-old bicyclist and another car, causing non-life-threatening injuries to two individuals. The video of the incident was filmed by the teenagers and has since emerged.
Police obtained the video from a local school resource officer, who was shown the footage by a student. In the video, both teenagers can be seen laughing as they speed down a multi-lane road. They spot Probst ahead of them and one of the teens instructs the other to hit him. The car strikes Probst, causing him to fall to the side of the road, while the teenagers speed away callously.
Authorities believe that the hit-and-run that killed Probst was the third such incident committed by the pair on that day. Three out of the four stolen vehicles driven by the teenagers have been recovered, and police discovered clothing worn by the suspects during the incident during a search. The teenagers have now been arrested and booked into the Clark County Detention Center. Judges have ruled that the two juveniles will be tried as adults.
The incident has drawn attention not only due to the horrifying nature of the crime but also because of a vicious online campaign that targeted a Las Vegas newspaper, the Las Vegas Review-Journal, for its coverage of the case. This online campaign was spurred on by Elon Musk, the owner of SpaceX and Tesla. Musk shared a post criticizing the newspaper’s headline, suggesting that it had attempted to downplay the deliberate nature of the crime. The post gained national attention, with Musk questioning the lack of media outrage for the murder of an innocent man and highlighting the killers’ callous behavior on social media.
Due to the online harassment, the reporter who wrote the story, Sabrina Schnur, faced personal and disturbing attacks. Online harassers published her phone number, dug up old posts from her teenage years, and accused her of being anti-white. The Las Vegas Review-Journal condemned the attacks and urged readers not to politicize the murder or use it to push political agendas or create cultural wars.
The tragic death of Andreas Rene Probst has shocked the Las Vegas community. As the two teenagers face the consequences of their horrific actions, the online campaign against the newspaper and the personal attacks against the reporter demonstrate the need for responsible and respectful discourse in the face of such tragedies.
