Police ID officers who shot, killed knife-wielding man near the Strip
Police have identified the officers who shot and killed a knife-wielding man Friday east of the Las Vegas Strip.
The Metropolitan Police Department identifed the officers as 26-year-old Officer Anthony Salinas and 27-year-old Officer Trenzel Allen.
Salinas has been employed with the department since 2022, and Allen since 2021. Both officers were assigned to the Tourist Safety Division, Convention Center Area Command.
The shooting occurred in the 200 block of East Tropicana Avenue, near Koval Lane.
The man was pronounced dead at University Medical Center. Police would not identify the business where the shooting occurred, but a Rebel gas station and Red Dragon casino are in that block.
Capt. Kurt McKenzie said at a briefing that officers did not use any kind of Taser device, but they did have “less lethal weapons on their belt.”
“It happened extremely fast,” he said.
It was the 10th police shooting this year in Metro’s jurisdiction, according to McKenzie.
McKenzie said police got a call from a business about people the business wanted removed from the property because one had gone behind the counter and threatened employees. Metro said in a news release that officers responded at about 9:58 a.m.
The people left the business but stayed in the parking lot. Officers found the suspects when they arrived. A man was agitated and held a knife, McKenzie said.
As officers got out of their vehicle, the man “sped towards” an officer, who fired a round, McKenzie said. The suspect then charged at another officer, who also “discharged his weapon,” according to McKenzie.
The suspect continued to advance, he said, and “another volley of shots were put out by the officers, causing the subject to flee and he soon fell to the ground.”
Other officers arrived. They took the suspect into custody and provided “medical attention,” McKenzie said.
Police were asking anyone with information to reach out to Metro or Crime Stoppers.
“All involved officers are OK and are NOT injured,” the Las Vegas Police Protective Association, the union for Metro officers, said in an Instagram post. “Can’t say the same for the savage that attacked them with a knife.”
Contact Noble Brigham at nbrigham@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BrighamNoble on X.
