Gunman surrenders after Vegas shooting
1 killed before suspect barricades self on bus, shutting down part of Strip
LAS VEGAS — The gunman in a fatal shooting on the Las Vegas Strip who barricaded himself inside a public bus surrendered peacefully after shutting down the busy tourism corridor for hours, police said.
The standoff began about 11 a.m. Saturday with a shooting that killed one person and injured another on a double-decker bus stopped on Las Vegas Boulevard near the Cosmopolitan hotel-casino.
Two people were taken to the hospital after the shooting, University Medical Center spokeswoman Danita Cohen said. One died, and the other was in fair condition, Cohen said. That person suffered minor injuries, police said.
Las Vegas Police officer Larry Hadfield said just before 3:30 p.m. that the man had a handgun and surrendered without incident. Police did not open fire. Crisis negotiators, robots and armored vehicles were on the scene.
Police said they believe the man is the only suspect and that they have ruled out terrorism or any relationship to an earlier robbery nearby that shut down a part of the Bellagio hotel-casino.
Former NBA player Scot Pollard, who was staying at the Cosmopolitan, said by phone that he was at a bar at the hotel-casino around 11 a.m. when he saw several people, including staff, running through the area toward the casino and repeatedly screaming “get out of the way.” After he was told that the area would be closed, he went back to his room, which oversees the Strip.
“We can hear them negotiating. We can hear them saying things like ‘No one else needs to get hurt,’ ‘Come out with your hands up. We are not going anywhere. We are not leaving.’”