‘He choked me until I passed out’: Gunman in North Las Vegas shooting had domestic violence past

LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) - The woman taken hostage by her ex-boyfriend after he killed her daughter and four others in a North Las Vegas apartment tells FOX5 the justice system failed her.

Marshaya Harris said she endured years of physical abuse from her ex-boyfriend Eric Adams.

Records show Adams had a lengthy criminal history.

MORE: North Las Vegas gunman had history of domestic violence, robbery charges

Harris is still coming to terms with the fact that the man that she once loved is the one who carried out the killings. Our viewers heard from her on Monday, when she said she was certain the next victim would be her.

Adams later took Harris hostage after the killings.

"The first two years were beautiful," Harris said.

Harris and Adams met in January of 2020.

"It was like out of nowhere, he became this monster," Harris said. "He would check everything head to feet when I would come home from work. "

However, the clock was ticking on the beautiful love story Harris thought she had with him.

"Thinking I'm in love and this is the way its supposed to be, I don't care what my family says this is the man I was going to be with for the rest of my life," Harris said.

Her life was about to be in the hands of the man she loved. Harris told FOX5 Adams had put his hands on her before, but this past November an argument over the bills escalated.

"I remember he walked behind me he chocked me until I passed out. When I came back conscious, he had his knees to my shoulders and had a hammer to my head and he said, 'See, nobody is here to save you. I can do you off right now,'" Harris said.

The North Las Vegas Police Department responded to the incident and their records showed Adams had 49 previous arrests, including multiple domestic battery charges.

Harris said some of those charges took place during their relationship.

Records show in March of 2023, Adams was ordered to perform community service for a domestic battery charge. He was sentenced to 20 days for a second domestic battery charge and was told to stay out of trouble.

Adams was ordered to go through a domestic violence counseling for one year, which he just completed June 3rd. Weeks later, Adams would shoot and kill the daughter of Harris along with four others at their apartment at the Craig Ranch Villas in North Las Vegas.

She believes the justice system failed her.

"I have been scared for two years. Monday night was the ultimate," she said.

Harris also had a protective order against Adams which was supposed to expire this month. Harris said the order did not stop him from showing up to her work place either.

In the Las Vegas Valley, there is recourse for domestic violence survivors and victims.

FOX5 followed up with Liz Ortenburger, CEO of SafeNest who said strangulation is a clear flag that can lead to a homicide.

"Women who have been strangled have a 750 percent higher likelihood of being murdered. When we think about who should be incarcerated, strangulation is top of the list," Ortenburger said.

Ortenburger said Nevada's rates for domestic violence is higher than the national average and there needs to be more housing for those looking to leave a domestic violence situation.

"This is everybody's problem because most likely when a shooter in a domestic violence situation kills, they kill more than just the survivor. So our community is unsafe," Ortenburger said.

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