Carjacking suspect shot, wounded by NHP trooper in Henderson

A man was shot by a Nevada Highway Patrol trooper Wednesday after a miles-long pursuit and a violent carjacking attempt at a Henderson car dealership.

Trooper Jason Buratczuk, a Highway Patrol spokesman, said a 28-year-old man was shot in the torso after an elderly couple was assaulted at the Findlay Cadillac dealership, on Auto Show Drive at Gibson Road, during an attempted carjacking.

The unidentified man was taken to Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center. The Highway Patrol said Wednesday afternoon that his condition had stabilized.

Buratczuk said the man also is suspected of committing an earlier carjacking Wednesday.

The Metropolitan Police Department is investigating a related incident at a gas station near downtown Las Vegas. Officers were called at 7:13 a.m. to a gas station on Fremont Street at Eastern Avenue, where a woman had been injured after her car was stolen, the Highway Patrol said.

Surveillance video reviewed by officers shows that a man had stalked the woman before stealing her car. He then hit her and a bystander with the car’s door as he drove off. The woman was taken to University Medical Center, Buratczuk said.

A Las Vegas police spokesman said the injuries to her hand and arm were not serious.

Highway Patrol troopers began to pursue the car thief when he was seen driving recklessly on U.S. Highway 95 about 10 minutes later. Troopers followed the man on the highway for about 12 miles, from the Las Vegas Boulevard ramp to the Auto Show Drive ramp.

The man collided with another vehicle along the way, and by the time he arrived at the car dealership his tires had been blown out by his reckless driving, Buratczuk said.

Buratczuk said a man, described as about 90, was violently thrown to the ground by the car thief. His injuries did not require a trip to the hospital.

A Highway Patrol trooper and a bystander struggled to take the carjacking suspect into custody. When the suspect got into the elderly couple’s car, a trooper shot him, Buratczuk said.

The spokesman said troopers do not know much about the suspect’s background.

“We don’t know if drugs or alcohol played a role in this,” he said. “We don’t know his mental status. At this point we don’t know.”

Detectives from Metro’s force investigation team are investigating the shooting. The Highway Patrol generally partners with local jurisdictions when the agency is involved in a shooting.

“We don’t want to investigate our own,” Buratczuk said.

The Highway Patrol is expected to detail findings from the investigation at a briefing for reporters in about three days.

Buratczuk noted that a bystander tried to help in both of Wednesday morning’s carjackings.

“We have a good community here, and we had some witnesses who stepped up and tried to help them,” he said.

Gibson Road was closed while investigators worked between American Pacific Drive and Auto Show Drive.

Rachel Hershkovitz contributed to this report. Contact Wesley Juhl at wjuhl@reviewjournal.com and 702-383-0391. Follow @WesJuhl on Twitter.