Woman shot by boyfriend
For two victims, the last weekend in Nevada before Christmas was anything but festive, with a man fatally shot and a woman hospitalized for a gunshot wound.
reports came in of a shooting at the Aquarius Hotel and Casino Resort
Lieutenant Brian Boxler of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) said that just after 7:20am on December 20, reports came in of a shooting at the Aquarius Hotel and Casino Resort, in Laughlin, Nevada. The Bullhead City Police Department in neighboring Arizona alerted the LVMPD to the incident. It turns out the victim, a woman whose age and name were undisclosed, is recovering in an Arizona hospital from a gunshot wound.
The woman’s boyfriend reportedly fired a shot following a struggle inside a room at the casino property. Officers took the suspect into police custody without incident, Boxler said.
Fatal Friday for partygoer
On December 18, the LVMPD responded to a 911 call about a shooting at the STRAT Hotel, Casino & Skypod at around 9:57pm. On arrival at the Las Vegas Boulevard property, officers discovered an “unresponsive adult male suffering from a gunshot wound.” A responding medical unit pronounced the man – which KSNV NBC Las Vegas described as a black male in his early 30s – deceased at the scene.
officers discovered an “unresponsive adult male suffering from a gunshot wound”
The LVMPD is still looking for the suspect/s who fled the scene. On Sunday, it tweeted a link to an official news release about the homicide and encouraged members of the public to offer any information:
LVMPD investigators from the Homicide Section believe the victim was attending a birthday celebration in one of the STRAT hotel rooms. During the event, a scuffle ensued “that ended with gunshots” and another partygoer killing the victim. Police have yet to establish a motive, and the investigation is ongoing.
Latest cases of Nevada violence
The Aquarius shooting and the STRAT homicide are the latest incarnations of Nevada’s recent inclination towards violent crimes, particularly those taking place in and around casino-resort properties.
Towards the end of November, a man was injured after a drug-related shooting incident outside Tropicana Las Vegas. On November 13, an argument outside the MGM Grand led to someone getting shot, while on November 7, a juvenile suspect injured four people following a shooting at the Circus Circus Hotel and Casino’s Adventuredome theme park.
Other recent incidents include a shooting on the MGM Grand casino floor and gun violence outside the ARIA Resort & Casino and Paris Las Vegas. Las Vegas sheriff Joe Lombardo has made it a top priority to address this local uptick in violence.