Woman stole sweater, shot at security guards near Strip, report says

A woman shot at security guards of a gift shop near the Strip on Tuesday after she stole a sweater, police said.

Mercedes Cage, 35, faces charges of attempted murder, battery with a deadly weapon, assault with a deadly weapon, discharging a gun into an occupied structure, and damaging a vehicle, Las Vegas Justice Court records show.

At around 5:50 p.m., Cage was at Bonanza Gift Shop, 2400 Las Vegas Blvd. South, where security saw her take a sweater from the sales rack and walk out of the store without paying, according to a Metropolitan Police Department arrest report released Thursday. A security guard confronted Cage in the parking lot, and she pulled out a handgun.

Cage pointed the gun at two guards and fired around nine rounds, one hitting a security guard in his upper back, three hitting the store and one hitting the rear driver‘s side window of a nearby car, according to the report.

As Cage walked away, her gun appeared to malfunction and another security guard ran up and tackled Cage while she was in the crosswalk at Las Vegas Boulevard and Sahara Avenue. During the struggle on the ground, Cage accidentally shot herself in the left armpit, and the security guard suffered a laceration to the back of his head, according to the report.

A witness, who saw the struggle from his car, got out and helped security take Cage into custody, police said.

Cage was taken to Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center, and the security guard was taken to University Medical Center. He was in critical condition as of Tuesday, according to the report.

As of late Thursday, Cage remained in custody on $200,000 bail, jail records show.

She is due in court on Monday, according to court records.

Contact David Wilson at dwilson@reviewjournal.com. Follow @davidwilson_RJ on Twitter.