A 20-year-old Las Vegas woman accused of having a fascination with firearms has been charged with open murder after police say she fatally shot her boyfriend while posing for pictures with a gun. Allysandra Blea, 20, is accused of the killing of 23-year-old Mark Gaughan during what began as a late-night gathering that turned deadly.
According to Las Vegas Metropolitan Police, officers received a 911 call around 5 a.m. on Saturday, August 23, reporting an “accidental shooting” near Washington Avenue and Decatur Boulevard in the northwest valley. Responding officers found Gaughan suffering from a gunshot wound.
He was pronounced dead a short time later. Investigators said Gaughan had been photographing Blea and another woman as they posed with a firearm. At some point, the gun discharged, striking him. Court documents revealed that Polaroid photographs were recovered from the scene, showing Blea and another woman posing with the weapon.
In one picture, Blea appeared to hold the gun with her finger on the trigger while pointing it at her own mouth. Another photo showed her holding the firearm against her head. A separate image depicted one woman with a knife while Blea reclined against her, holding the gun, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
Witnesses described Gaughan as Blea’s boyfriend and told police he had brought the firearm to the gathering, believing the weapon’s chamber was empty. Multiple witnesses also said alcohol had been consumed that evening before the group began taking the photographs.
Blea told detectives the shooting was not intentional. “She stated it was an accident and admitted she has never taken any firearm safety courses and believed the firearm didn’t have a bullet in the chamber,” police records said. “She was adamant that she did not intentionally kill Mark.”
But detectives pointed to Blea’s online activity, which they said reflected a troubling obsession with guns. “In several conversations with various accounts, there was talk about her love of shooting guns, owning guns, building her arsenal, and shooting people in the face,” investigators noted.
They also found photos of her posing with different firearms, sometimes pressing them against her head, stuffed animals, or bottles. Police further observed that she had a bullseye tattoo inked on her chest. In one online comment cited by investigators, Blea allegedly wrote, “I wish I could shoot people with real guns and get away with it.”
The Clark County coroner’s office ruled Gaughan’s death a homicide. At her first court appearance on Wednesday, Judge Suzan Baucum of Las Vegas Justice Court denied bail for Blea, who remains in custody pending further proceedings.