Shooting at east Las Vegas 7-Eleven leaves man dead, 2 hurt

A man was killed and two others were injured after a shooting at a 7-Eleven store in east Las Vegas on Saturday night.

Without naming the store or providing the exact address, the Metropolitan Police Department on Sunday said that officers responded to a business in the 4100 block of Boulder Highway at about 11:54 p.m. Saturday after a ShotSpotter alert of a shooting.

The ShotSpotter technology uses strategically placed sensors in a given area to detect gunfire and then alert police.

Officers arrived to find a man who had been shot lying in front of the store. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The Clark County coroner’s office on Wednesday identified the man as Phillip Lewis, 44.

Two other adults were also injured, police said.

The man had been standing in front of the store, police said, when shots were fired at him from a black sedan. The car then drove off before police arrived.

At the 7-Eleven on Sunday, workers were boarding up the front of the store, which was closed to customers, because the glass of the front windows and doors had been shot out.

Lance Hunter, 51, of Las Vegas, was across the street when the shooting happened. At first he thought the gunshots were fireworks. He came over to the 7-Eleven to see the victim on the ground and police cars and ambulances at the scene.

“I saw him laying out there and that kind of done something to me,” Hunter said, describing the worker as a “helluva guy” who was friendly and always smiling.

Hunter, who identified the man only as Phil as on Sunday, said the victim was a 7-Eleven employee that he knew. They would have conversations, often about anime, the Japanese style of animation. He was a good person, Hunter said.

“I’ve never ran into him on any day that he had a bad attitude,” Hunter said.

Hunter said he had heard the worker had been outside on a cigarette break. Hunter said he didn’t know who the injured people were.

No arrests had been announced as of Sunday.

Metro police are urging anybody with information to contact homicide investigators by phone at 702-828-3521 or by email at homicide@lvmpd.com.

Anonymous tips can also be left with Crime Stoppers at 702-385-5555 or at www.crimestoppersofnv.com.

Contact Brett Clarkson at bclarkson@reviewjournal.com.