Man killed by police in shootout
A man was killed by a Las Vegas police officer during a shootout and several others were injured in a riot that followed in front of a bar across the street from UNLV early Sunday morning, authorities said.
The shooting occurred after a patron of Tarkanian’s Celebrity Sports Club, 4550 S. Maryland Parkway, was kicked out and returned soon afterward, firing shots, police said.
When authorities arrived on the scene about 3 a.m., the unidentified man reportedly pointed a gun at police, who shot him.
Police will withhold the identity of the officer involved in the shooting for 48 hours in accordance with department policies. The victim’s identity has not been released until his relatives are notified.
Las Vegas police said they don’t know what started the riot, but numerous fights broke out that are believed to be gang-related.
Several people reportedly were arrested and injured during the melee.
Several police cars were called to the scene, including canine units used to control crowds.
A lot of confusion was caused when patrons were not immediately allowed to move their cars from the scene during the initial investigation.
Chris Robinson, assistant manager at the One Stop Rebel Shop in the same strip center said he was surprised that the business was not damaged when
he arrived at work about 9 a.m.
"It was calm and quiet like any other Sunday morning, but when you looked around you could tell something bad must have happened," he said.
"There was at least 80 quart-sized empty bottles and a lot of broken glass in the parking lot."
"I saw broken windows at Wienerschnitzel and Carl’s Jr. Whole plates of glass were broken at Celebrity Billiards. You could just walk through without getting cut," Robinson said.
Both Robinson and a Carl’s Jr. employee said there was a shooting at Tarkanian’s last weekend, but police said the shooting did not occur at the bar. A shooting suspect was chased to Tarkanian’s, and eluded authorities in the crowd, police said.
A shift supervisor at Carl’s Jr., 4510 S. Maryland Parkway, requested anonymity as he talked about damage to the restaurant. He said a napkin holder was thrown from the inside of the restaurant.
He said he has urged the restaurant to hire an armed security officer on weekends because gang members who come from the club start trouble.
"A week ago they ripped the sink off the wall in the men’s bathroom and they tore the door right off the hinges (in Carl’s Jr.)"
"When they come in here late on weekends they’re beyond rowdy. They’re indignant," he said. "I’m not surprised there was a shooting. Who knows what will happen next week."
