Las Vegas police give more details on 2 shootings of knife-wielding men

Las Vegas police released more details about the separate shootings of two knife-wielding men earlier in the week.

“This past week alone we had a really high number of critical incidents,” said Deputy Chief Dori Koren in a news conference Friday at the Metropolitan Police Department’s headquarters.

Neither of the two confrontations, which were the sixth and seventh police shootings involving Metro this year, were fatal. At this time last year, there had been three shootings.

Wednesday incident

On Wednesday, officers Ashley Ravelo, 32, and Johnny Patino, 32, shot a knife-wielding man outside of an east Las Vegas Valley business in the 6400 block of Boulder Highway, police said.

Ravelo fired one round at Robert Kunhart, 62, while Patino fired five rounds.

At nearly 4:45 a.m., officers received a call about a person with a knife, Assistant Sheriff Yasenia Yatomi said. Kunhart was armed with both a folding knife and a box cutter, she said.

The caller said he had been threatening customers inside the store, according to police.

Officers came up with a plan to stop Kunhart from entering the store, as there were still people inside. Yatomi said they told him several times to drop his weapons.

‘Holding two knives’

Responding officers followed the man as he headed towards the doors of the business. When he turned back towards officers, police fired a low-lethal round that Yatomi said was ineffective.

After several more less-lethal attempts, “Kunhart was unfazed by the projectiles and continued to walk towards the officers holding two knives in an elevated position. Kunhart then said, ‘Shoot me,’ and charged towards Sergeant Ravelo,” Yatomi said.

The two officers then opened fire. Kunhart was taken to Sunrise hospital and was in “stable condition,” according to police.

Kunhart faces charges of attempted murder and resisting a public officer with a weapon. He is scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday.

Tuesday shooting

On Tuesday, officer Miguel Rodriguez, 31, shot and injured a man accused of burglary at a home in the 2000 block of Valley Drive and fighting with citizens as he held a knife, according to police.

After a police investigation, it was revealed that Rodriguez fired five rounds at Matthew Tindall, 41, according to Yatomi.

Police said Tindall was armed with an 8-inch kitchen knife.

An image of the weapon provided by police shows a red smear on the blade.

“He’s going to kill us,” a person was heard saying in a call to police at around 9:40 a.m., Yatomi said.

Tindall had been in the caller’s backyard but had left, police said. Officers arriving at the scene heard cries for help from the house next door, Yatomi said.

The officers found Tindall in the doorway, fighting a man with a knife. After officers told him to drop the knife, he did.

When Tindall bent down to pick the knife back up, Rodriguez opened fire, Yatomi said. Body camera footage showed Tindall reach back toward the ground before he was shot.

Tried to stab multiple people, police allege

To break into the first house, Tindall threw a rock through a window, police said. He attempted to stab two people in the home, but they threw furniture at him and got him to go outside, according to Yatomi.

Tindall then jumped the wall into the neighboring backyard and entered through a side door, she continued. He tried to stab another victim, police said.

One victim was stabbed, Yatomi said, but was OK, adding that Tindall did not have a connection to the neighborhood where the crime happened.