1 dead in southwest Las Vegas strip mall shootout
A shootout with at least 15 shots fired left one man dead in a parking lot at a strip mall in southwest Las Vegas on Wednesday morning, police said.
A man and woman ordered food shortly after 2 a.m. in the drive-thru at an In-N-Out Burger restaurant at 9640 W. Tropicana Ave., near Fort Apache Road, Las Vegas police Lt. Ray Spencer said. The couple parked to eat when two men approached. An altercation broke out “and gunfire was exchanged,” Spencer said.
One of the two men who approached the vehicle was shot dead by the man who was having dinner. The latter fled the parking lot and called police, Spencer said, adding that preliminary information indicates he had a concealed carry permit. He was not arrested.
“No information has been presented to me right now that leads us to believe that the two parties know each other,” Spencer said, adding that “the incident appears to be self-defense.”
Spencer cautioned that the investigation is in its preliminary stages.
He also said the girlfriend of the man killed showed up at the parking lot before police arrived and put his gun in her car, “so we are in the process of serving a search warrant on the vehicle and (the deceased man’s) residence,” Spencer said.
Police are trying to determine if an attempted burglary at a nearby gun store is related.
Contact Glenn Puit by email at gpuit@reviewjournal.com. Follow @GlennatRJ on Twitter.
