Officer injured, man dead after screwdriver attack, police shooting
A Las Vegas officer and three civilians shot and killed a man who stabbed another officer with a screwdriver Wednesday afternoon in the parking lot of a south valley shooting range.
Police were called about 12:50 p.m. to The Range 702, 5999 Dean Martin Drive, after receiving a report of a man inside causing a “disturbance,” Metropolitan Police Department Capt. Jamie Prosser said.
“He went into the business and started messing around with property that did not belong to him, and they asked him to leave,” she said.
Several people followed the man outside of the range as they waited for Metro officers to arrive. Investigators believe they were “ensuring that he didn’t re-enter,” Prosser said.
Once at the scene, two officers in the parking lot began calling out to the man, Prosser said, ordering him to the front of their patrol vehicle.
“As they attempted to have more verbal contact with him, he pulled out a screwdriver and violently attacked one of our officers,” Prosser said. “At that time, three citizens as well as her partner officer fired multiple rounds, striking the subject.”
The man died at the scene. The officer was taken to University Medical Center, where she was treated and released, Prosser said.
It was unclear Wednesday afternoon if the three citizens who opened fire could face criminal charges.
Andrea Woods, a manager at Larry Flynt’s Hustler Club, which is next to the shooting range, said her co-worker heard the gunfire Wednesday afternoon.
“When I came out, I did see police officers giving CPR to the victim,” Woods told reporters near the scene.
The shooting range did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday afternoon. The business advertises itself as “the largest indoor shooting range in Nevada,” according to its website.
The Clark County coroner’s office will identify the man killed once relatives have been notified. Las Vegas police are expected to name the officer who opened fire within two days.
Wednesday marked the first police shooting involving Metro officers this year, according to records maintained by the Review-Journal.
Contact Katelyn Newberg at knewberg@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0240. Follow @k_newberg on Twitter. Review-Journal staff writer Glenn Puit contributed to this report.
