Las Vegas police release bodycam footage in shooting of boy, 16

The Metropolitan Police Department has released body camera footage of Friday night’s officer-involved shooting in east Las Vegas that left a 16-year-old boy injured.

According to a news release from Assistant Sheriff Chris Darcy, officers were patrolling near the Parkdale Recreation Center, 3200 Ferndale St., when they noticed two “males” walking through the park. When the pair noticed the officers, one walked toward them and one started walking away, Darcy said.

The one who walked toward them was not apprehended, Darcy said. But one officer began to follow the 16-year-old who had walked away. The boy began running into a nearby neighborhood when he noticed police were following him, Darcy said.

Officer Coleman Barnum was patrolling the neighborhood and saw the boy running. He began to chase the boy on foot and noticed he had a firearm in his right hand, Darcy said.

Barnum’s body camera footage showed that he told the boy to drop the gun, but the boy kept running. The boy stopped in the front yard of a house at 4505 Lindale Ave.

Darcy said a person was walking on the sidewalk toward the house and, because the boy refused to drop his gun, Barnum opened fire. Barnum shot four rounds and hit the boy at least twice, Darcy said.

The boy was taken to Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center and was in stable condition as of Monday afternoon, Darcy said. He faces charges of resisting a public officer with a firearm and possession of a firearm by a child under 18. The boy will not be identified because he is not a minor.

Contact Alexis Egeland at aegeland@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0335. Follow @alexis_egeland on Twitter.