Man stabbed to death after bystanders help screaming woman, police say
A man in his 50s was stabbed to death in the east Las Vegas Valley on Tuesday after a group of people ran to help a screaming woman who was possibly being sexually assaulted by the man, police said, citing witnesses.
“A group of citizens who overheard the female screaming ran to her aid,” said Metropolitan Police Department Lt. Jason Johansson. “That’s when he was stabbed.”
Police responded to reports of the stabbing at around 3:30 p.m. in the 1000 block of Laurel Avenue, just south of East Charleston Blvd., Johansson said.
As officers arrived on the scene, they found the wounded man in a back alley. He began receiving medical treatment before being transported to University Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead, Johansson said.
Johansson said that several witnesses said that the man may have been committing sexual assault when he was attacked.
The alleged victim, a woman in her 30s, also told police he had assaulted her in a shed at the back of a nearby dirt lot.
The group of people then fled the scene, he said, while the man ran to the alley where he was found injured by police.
Detectives were taking steps to identify the suspects, including reviewing surveillance footage.
“This is still a pretty fluid investigation,” Johansson said. He urged anyone with information to reach out to Metro’s Homicide Section or Crime Stoppers of Nevada.
Contact Estelle Atkinson at eatkinson@reviewjournal.com.