A Las Vegas-area teen accused of stabbing his mother and younger brother to death was taken into custody on Wednesday, police said.
In a statement, police in Henderson, Nevada, said they received a tip that Adrian Navarro-Canales, 16, was in nearby Las Vegas.
There they found Navarro-Canales sitting in an open-air food court near the Strip. He was arrested without incident, officials said.
Henderson police had been searching for the teenager since the bodies of his mother, Elvira Canales-Gomes, 40, and brother, Cesar Navarro, 9, were discovered at about noon on Friday in a bloody bathroom of the suburban apartment where they celebrated the suspect’s birthday just days earlier.
Navarro-Canales, 16, was booked into the juvenile holding area of the Clark County Detention Center, but is charged as an adult with two counts of murder, Henderson police spokesman Keith Paul told NBC News. It was unclear when he would appear in court, Paul said.
The teen was first thought to be a possible victim after the bodies were found but then was named as a suspect Monday in a murder warrant.
Police said Navarro-Canales dropped out of high school last November. His cousin told police the teen has said he wanted to return to Mexico, The Associated Press reported.
Henderson police investigators said they thought the killings took place on Sept. 17. Detectives believe Navarro-Canales left the apartment on Sept. 18 and walked to the Las Vegas Strip.
Henderson police started investigating the case when a neighbor reported that Canales-Gomez had not shown up for work.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.