Valley of Fire reopens 2 days after fatal shooting involving ranger
By Peter Breen Las Vegas Review-Journal
A car leaves Valley of Fire State Park, which is closed off to visitors at the moment, on Thursday, July 11, 2024, in Moapa Valley. A Nevada State Park Ranger shot and killed a person on Wednesday inside of the park, officials say. (Madeline Carter/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Valley of Fire State Park is closed off to visitors on Thursday, July 11, 2024, in Moapa Valley. A Nevada State Park Ranger shot and killed a person on Wednesday inside of the park, officials say. (Madeline Carter/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Valley of Fire State Park is closed off to visitors on Thursday, July 11, 2024, in Moapa Valley. A Nevada State Park Ranger shot and killed a person on Wednesday inside of the park, officials say. (Madeline Carter/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
A bighorn sheep is seen outside of Valley of Fire State Park on Thursday, July 11, 2024, in Moapa Valley. (Madeline Carter/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Valley of Fire Highway is seen while the park is closed off to visitors on Thursday, July 11, 2024, in Moapa Valley. A Nevada State Park Ranger shot and killed a person on Wednesday inside of the Valley of Fire park, officials say. (Madeline Carter/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Valley of Fire State Park is closed off to visitors on Thursday, July 11, 2024, in Moapa Valley. A Nevada State Park Ranger shot and killed a person on Wednesday inside of the park, officials say. (Madeline Carter/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Valley of Fire State Park is closed off to visitors on Thursday, July 11, 2024, in Moapa Valley. A Nevada State Park Ranger shot and killed a person on Wednesday inside of the park, officials say. (Madeline Carter/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Valley of Fire State Park reopened on Friday after being closed since Wednesday because of a fatal shooting involving a park ranger, according to a Nevada State Parks spokesman.
A Wednesday news release from Nevada State Parks said the unidentified park ranger fired their weapon while responding to a call. Details about the content of the call or why the park ranger fired their weapon have not been released.
The Wednesday news release said the park ranger was not injured and only one person was wounded in the shooting. That person was declared dead at the scene, according to the news release.
The unidentified park ranger, who was placed on administrative leave, was not wearing a body camera during the shooting, according to state parks spokesman Tyler Kerver. Nevada law does not require state parks park rangers to wear body cameras.
Authorities have not specified the area of the park in which the shooting occurred. Whether any footage of the shooting exists is unclear.
Kerver said on Friday that the investigations division of the Nevada Department of Public Safety was putting together a report on the shooting.
More details about the shooting will be released by Wednesday afternoon, Kerver said.
Those with camping reservations were still able to access the park while it was closed, but they weren’t permitted to step out of the campground, according to Nevada State Parks’ Facebook account and signs posted at the park.
