NLV police release shooting details, say teen shot at them first

Two North Las Vegas Police Department officers exchanged gunfire with a 15-year-old boy who police say first shot at them in a North Las Vegas neighborhood on August 28, injuring the teen’s arm, police said.

Officers had been patrolling the area of Valley Drive and Washburn Road at around 12:30 a.m. to investigate multiple vehicle burglaries, North Las Vegas Police Department Public Information Officer Djuan Muldrew said in a video released by the department Wednesday.

“In total, 12 vehicles were burglarized at nine locations,” Muldrew said in the video.

The video, part of what the department called a “Critical Incident Briefing,” was also released with bodyworn camera footage of the incident as well as photographs of evidence that included what police said was the suspect’s 9 mm handgun, magazine and bullets, screwdriver, pocket knife and face mask. The department typically releases such critical incident briefings after shootings involving an officer or officers, and the briefings feature a department spokesperson outlining the incident and the allegations against the suspect or suspects.

Muldrew said in the video that when officers located a suspect and attempted to make contact with him just after 3 a.m., “the suspect immediately raised a handgun and fired twice at the officers,” Muldrew said. “This caused one officer to discharge his service weapon three times at the suspect.”

The three shots were fired by Officer Joshua Vardoulis, who was hired by the North Las Vegas Police Department in 2020, police said.

Muldrew said that the suspect then “led officers on a short foot pursuit, during which he fired another two rounds at the officers.” Due to these shots being fired, police said Vardoulis, alongside Officer Jesse Meyer, hired to the department in 2023, both fired their weapons.

In total, Vardoulis fired six shots and Meyer fired one, police said.

After the pursuit, the suspect, a 15-year-old boy that Muldrew said has a juvenile criminal history and is currently on juvenile probation, fled into a backyard in the 4300 block of Matinee Avenue.

Bodyworn camera footage from both officers shows the pursuit, as well as the suspect entering the backyard.

“After the suspect unsuccessfully tried to hop over the back wall, officers confronted him in the backyard, where he surrendered and was taken into custody,” Muldrew said.

His left arm had been shot, and the officers applied a tourniquet before medical support arrived, police said. The suspect was then transported to University Medical Center and treated for a non-life threatening gunshot wound.

The suspect is facing charges including attempted murder on a protected person and burglary while in possession of a firearm.

“Because he’s a juvenile, the suspect’s name and booking photo will not be released,” Muldrew said in the video.

The firearm used by the suspect had been stolen from a family member who declined to press charges for the theft, Muldrew said.

Police said that North Las Vegas police detectives are “working with the Clark County District Attorney’s Office to certify the suspect as an adult.”

Both Vardoulis and Meyer have been placed on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation, which remains ongoing, according to police.

Contact Estelle Atkinson at eatkinson@reviewjournal.com. Follow @estellelilym on X and @estelleatkinsonreports on Instagram.