Two teenagers on a Grand Theft Auto-style rampage in Las Vegas are facing murder charges for driving into and killing a former police chief as he pedalled along the side of the road.

A 54-second clip on X, formerly Twitter, showed the two teens inside a stolen car targeting 64-year-old Andreas Rene Probst, who was riding his bicycle near the curb in an otherwise traffic-free road, on Aug 14.

As those in the car laugh, the driver steers towards Mr Probst and rams his bicycle, sending Mr Probst hurtling onto the hood and into the windshield.

They took off laughing, said Deputy Police Chief Farese, “leaving (Mr Probst) for dead on the side of a road”, reported Sky News.

Deputy Chief Farese called the killing “appalling” and “cowardly”.

It was likened to the mindless, insensitive violence that occurs in the sandbox-style, open world video game Grand Theft Auto (GTA).

At a news conference on Tuesday, Ms Taylor Probst said her father, a former police chief in Bell, California, was “a man of honour and integrity” who worked for more than 35 years in law enforcement.

“We are devastated by the senseless murder of Andy,” she said. “Andy’s life was robbed by two individuals who did not believe that lives of others matter.”

Before running into Mr Probst, the teenagers were said to be behind at least three hit-and-run incidents on Aug 14.

Police said the two struck a 72-year-old bicyclist just before dawn and then crashed into a Toyota Corolla.

The driver of the Toyota was not injured, but there was no detail provided on whether the bicyclist suffered any injuries, if any.

The teens then came across Mr Probst as he rode his bicycle in a designated bike lane.

A 17-year-old was arrested on traffic charges related to Mr Probst’s death.

Police said they found the video only weeks later, when a school official provided it to investigators.

That led to a murder charge for the driver and prompted a police search for the passenger in the video.

The second teen was arrested on Tuesday.