Police shoot at, but miss, man who allegedly reached for gun in east Las Vegas

Police shot at but didn’t hit a man who they said slashed the tires of a parked patrol car and reached for a gun Tuesday.

During a media conference, Captain Kurt McKenzie with the Metropolitan Police Department said at about 10:40 a.m. Tuesday, officers received a call about a “property exchange” in the 3200 block of La Barca Lane, north of East Desert Inn Road and South of Nellis Avenue. The address is located inside of a 55+ mobile home community.

When police arrived at the home, they found two people who said there was someone inside with a gun.

Officers asked the man to surrender, but he did not, according to McKenzie. Instead, he came in and out of the house. One of the first times, he was armed with a knife, which he used to stab the tires of a police vehicle parked in the driveway, McKenzie said. The man also smashed the car windows and went back inside.

Afterward, the man returned and placed a long gun on the porch before retreating into the home. Then, he stood on the porch again, appearing to reach for the weapon he previously placed there, Mackenzie said.

At this point, officers deemed the incident a barricade since the man was armed and would not surrender, according to a news release from Metro. SWAT and crisis negotiators were dispatched to the scene.

“Officers attempted to give verbal commands, as well as used less lethal munitions, to deter the subject from reaching the long gun,” McKenzie said. Later in the conference, he added that the low-lethal efforts like bean bag rounds were “ineffective.” When a reporter asked if officers used a Taser, McKenzie said that, as of Tuesday afternoon, it was unclear.

The man continued reaching for the gun, McKenzie said, causing an officer to shoot around 12:40 p.m. The man ran inside again before SWAT and crisis negotiators arrived.

Officers took the man into custody, and he was transported to a nearby hospital with minor injuries, though he was not struck by gunfire, according to McKenzie. Police said that no officers were injured in the shooting.

McKenzie said that, at the time of the conference, officers were still trying to determine the suspect’s relationship with the two individuals picking up belongings from the house.

It was Metro’s 17th officer-involved shooting of 2024.

Contact Akiya Dillon at adillon@reviewjournal.com