Man found shot dead on strip mall sidewalk

Security guard arrested hours after driving off

Las Vegas police on Saturday arrested a security guard accused of shooting a man early Saturday morning, leaving him to be found more than seven hours later at a north valley shopping center.

Officers were called about 8 a.m. to a shopping center at 6475 N. Decatur Blvd., according to Metropolitan Police Department dispatch records. An employee at one of the businesses was coming into work when she saw a man lying on the sidewalk with multiple gunshot wounds and called 911, Metro homicide Lt. Ray Spencer said.

The man, who was in his mid-20s, was pronounced dead at the scene. Officers obtained security footage of the shooting and identified the suspect as a security guard in his mid-20s.

Detectives determined that the shooting happened about 12:45 a.m., more than seven hours before the victim was found, Spencer said.

“It appears the victim was homeless and sleeping near the business,” Spencer said. “There’s some discussion between the suspect and the victim, and that’s when you see the suspect shoot the victim multiple times.”

On Saturday, detectives did not find any indication that there was a struggle between the man and the security guard before the shooting, Spencer said.

The security guard was on duty at the time of the shooting and was assigned to patrol the shopping center. Surveillance footage shows the guard getting into his security vehicle after the shooting and driving away, Spencer said.

Detectives found the security officer at his apartment Saturday between 5 and 6 p.m., Spencer said. He was being interviewed by detectives Saturday evening.

Las Vegas Review-Journal Las Vegas detectives investigate a Saturday morning shooting at a strip mall in the northern valley.