Officer-involved shooting leaves truck-theft suspect in hospital
A Las Vegas police officer shot a man suspected of stealing a truck late Wednesday after the man appeared to reach for a gun during a vehicle stop in the east valley.
The officer fired two rounds and struck the man at least one time in the torso around 11:30 p.m. on the block of 3900 Raymert Drive, near Sandhill and Desert Inn roads, Capt. Kelly McMahill said at a briefing early Thursday. The man was taken to Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center and was expected to survive after undergoing surgery.
The theft of a Dodge pickup truck had been reported about four hours before by a 911 caller who said the thief had broken into a garage on the 7900 block of Sea Horn Court, near South Buffalo Drive and West Flamingo Road.
Officers tracked the truck to Raymert Drive. While they attempted to take the man into custody, ht put the vehicle in reverse toward officers, exited the vehicle and appeared to reach for a gun, prompting the officer to fire, according to police.
“Here at the scene we did find what appears to be a firearm lying next to that stolen vehicle,” McMahill said.
Here is the briefing from Capt. McMahill. Story to come. pic.twitter.com/qLmKcky1b1
— Katelyn Newberg (@k_newberg) July 18, 2019
Police arrested another person in connection with the stolen truck, McMahill said, but it was unclear Thursday morning if that person was in the truck at the time of the shooting.
The shooting was the 11th involving Metro officers this year, and the sixth nonfatal shooting, according to Review-Journal records.
Police will release the name of the officer who opened fire within 48 hours, and further information will be released at a press briefing within 72 hours, per department policy.
Anybody with information is asked to contact Metro’s force investigation team at 702-828-8452. To remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers at 702-385-555 or at www.crimestoppersofnv.com.
A previous version of this article incorrectly reported the location where the pickup was stolen.
Contact Katelyn Newberg at knewberg@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0240. Follow @k_newberg on Twitter.
