Man who shot at officers found dead after apartment standoff, fire

A man who exchanged gunfire with Las Vegas police Tuesday was discovered dead after a fire erupted inside the apartment where he had barricaded himself for hours.

Police were called about 9:50 a.m. to a domestic disturbance at the Milan Apartment Townhomes complex, located at 875 E. Silverado Ranch Blvd.

Arriving officers found a woman on the second-floor landing of an apartment. When police called for the woman to come toward officers, a man came out from the apartment and fired one round, Metropolitan Police Department Capt. Sasha Larkin said during a news conference at the scene.

Officers returned fire, Larkin said. The man retreated back inside the apartment and the woman, who was not injured, was safely moved from the scene.

A short time later, the man again began shooting at officers from a window, Larkin said. Officers again returned fire. All officers involved were uninjured, according a statement from Metro.

Larkin said during the 1:40 p.m. news conference that the man was still inside the apartment, but that his condition was unknown. A few minutes later, black smoke was seen rising from the apartment.

Clark County Fire Department crews worked from the outside to extinguish the blaze, according to Warren Whitney, deputy fire chief for the department.

Once most flames were knocked down, Whitney said, Las Vegas SWAT officers entered the apartment, where they found the man dead. Fire crews then entered the apartment to extinguish the rest of the blaze.

The fire did not spread to other apartments, Whitney said. The cause had not been determined Tuesday afternoon.

It was unclear if the man who died was shot by police. It was also unclear if he died as a result of the fire. The Clark County coroner’s office had not identified the man or determined his cause and manner of death.

People in nearby apartments were evacuated during the hourslong incident, including Jayvion Jones, 15.

While speaking to his father and the Review-Journal over a video call, the boy said he had been at home in the kitchen when he heard three loud bangs from upstairs.

After he heard the bangs, an officer pounded on his door. He was being evacuated to a nearby school as he spoke with the Review-Journal and his father, who rushed off to meet the boy.

Las Vegas police are expected to name the officers who shot at the man and release more details on the incident this week.

Tuesday’s shooting was the second time Las Vegas police had shot at someone this year. Officer Andrew Nguyen, 34, along with three civilians, fatally shot Marvon Payton Jr., 27, outside The Range 702, 5959 Dean Martin Drive, last week.

Police said Payton was causing a disturbance inside the business and that, shortly after officers arrived, he stabbed Nguyen’s partner with a screwdriver. The unnamed officer was treated and released from University Medical Center that afternoon.

Contact Katelyn Newberg at knewberg@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0240. Follow @k_newberg on Twitter. Review-Journal reporter Sabrina Schnur contributed to this report.