Las Vegas police investigate man’s death after home break-in
Las Vegas police are treating an eastern Las Vegas Valley homicide that occurred Friday afternoon as an act of self-defense.
Details of the investigation are preliminary, Metropolitan Police Department Lt. Ray Spencer said, but police have not made an arrest in the shooting that killed one man.
Shortly after noon, police responded to a report of a possible home burglary on the 4700 block of Marnell Drive, near Harmon Avenue and Mountain Vista Street.
Two brothers were at their home when one alerted the other of people trying to break in, Spencer said. The older brother, in his mid-50s, went into the hallway where he saw a man, Spencer said.
The two men began fighting and, during a struggle between the two, the younger brother who is in his mid-40s fired multiple rounds, striking the suspected intruder, Spencer said.
After the shooting, the older brother continued fighting until the man was outside and they fell to the ground, Spencer said. A neighbor who heard the gunshots came by to check on the noise and called 911, he said. The brothers were physically injured, Spencer said.
The wounded man was taken to Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center, where he died. Police were working to identify the man Friday afternoon.
Investigators do not believe there is a connection between the brothers and the man who was killed. The brothers experienced a burglary at their home in April, Spencer said.
Spencer said only one person was involved in the struggle inside the house, but investigators are working to determine whether others were part of the attempted burglary.
As a matter of protocol, suspected cases of self-defense are referred to the Clark County district attorney’s office for review, Spencer said.
Kirk Braswell, 48, lives just down the street from where the shooting occurred. He said he was home when his house was broken into about a month ago. Braswell said he bought a gun after the scare.
“My heart was beating a hundred miles an hour,” he said.
Contact Blake Apgar at bapgar@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5298. Follow @blakeapgar on Twitter.
