Officer-involved shooting outside Vegas casino leaves one dead

Officer-involved shooting outside Vegas casino leaves one dead

Monday morning saw a scene unfold outside a Las Vegas casino worthy of an episode on any of the police-based TV series over the past 40 years. After unsuccessfully trying to rob two casinos, a man barricades himself in his car as he’s being chased by cops and, after a long and tense standoff, decides to exit the vehicle, guns blasting as he takes the “suicide by cop” death route.

Officer-involved shooting outside Vegas casino leaves one deadThe assailant, who has not yet been identified, attempted to rob the Golden Nugget Laughlin Hotel & Casino at around 1 AM Monday morning. The emphasis is on “attempted,” since, despite having a gun, the casino employee didn’t give in. The man backed down and made his escape, leaving the worker to call the Las Vegas Metro Police Department (LVMDP).

Not ready to hang up his gun for the night, the would-be thief struck again, this time going after the Aquarius. Lady Luck was not on his side that night, as the employee he encountered during his second attempt also wasn’t willing to hand over the cash. The assailant took off once again, but had a security guard behind him this time.

The crook reportedly fired at the guard during the chase, but shooting a gun behind you while running is only accurate in Hollywood movies and the guard was unharmed. Since law enforcement was around the corner – the Aquarius and the Golden Nugget are only about a half-mile from each other – cops were on the scene in no time.

As the thief tried to make a run for it in his car, he was surrounded by the police. Negotiations began that would have law enforcement ordering copious amounts of coffee – the negotiations lasted for six hours with virtually no interaction or willingness on the part of the assailant to give up his fortified position.

Finally, the failed robber must have decided enough was enough. In a move that would make Quentin Tarantino proud, he threw open the car door, jumped out and started firing. With all the law enforcement attention he had been receiving throughout the night, the result was to be expected. He was taken down, his body riddled with bullet holes and blood spatter.