Ex-employee accused of shooting worker outside McDonald’s on Strip

A man who was recently fired from a McDonald’s on the Las Vegas Strip is accused of donning a skull mask and shooting an employee outside the restaurant.

Victor Angel Villanueva, 28, of Las Vegas was arrested Saturday on a charge of attempted murder with a deadly weapon in connection with the Oct. 28 shooting.

According to a Las Vegas police arrest report, Villanueva wore the mask while waiting for the employee to exit the restaurant at 3999 Las Vegas Boulevard South, across from Mandalay Bay. The report alleges that Villanueva then fired a shotgun, striking the victim in the head and neck with birdshot before fleeing the scene.

The worker told police that he exited the back door to take a break at about 11:50 p.m. and was walking back and forth on a sidewalk when a man approached him wearing dark clothing and a black-and-white skull mask. He said the man then pointed a short-barreled shotgun at him.

As the worker turned and tried to run away, according to the arrest report, he heard a gunshot and began to feel pain in his head.

The victim suffered 35 to 45 impact wounds from birdshot-sized pellets in the back, top and front of his head and in his neck. He was taken to University Medical Center for treatment.

According to the report, the wounded man believed the shooter was an ex-McDonald’s employee named Victor who had been fired recently for getting into a fight with a customer. He told police he had seen Victor hanging around the place about an hour and 15 minutes prior to the shooting.

The employee said Victor may have held him responsible for his termination.

Surveillance cameras at the McDonald’s captured the shooting, according to the police report.

“The footage showed the suspect had a clear plan and targeted the victim solely,” an officer wrote. “There were multiple opportunities with other people walking in the parking lot area directly next to where the suspect was hiding. The suspect lay in wait for (the victim) to exit the business a second time prior to running up and shooting him from approximately five yards away.”

The victim’s name was redacted in the report. According to the report, officers stopped Villanueva after the shooting.

“Due to Villanueva not having a mask or firearm on him, he was identified and released,” the arrest report states.

Detectives searched an area in the desert near Haven Street, where surveillance footage had captured Villanueva running. They located a black hoodie, a Dickies beanie, a black-and-white skull mask and a black weightlifting belt. Police believe the belt was used to conceal the shotgun.

Police later arrested Villanueva on Charleston Boulevard near Rainbow Boulevard. He is being held at the Clark County Detention Center on $100,000 bail.

Contact Jeff Burbank at jburbank@reviewjournal.com. Follow @JeffBurbank2 on Twitter.