Henderson Police
A man wielding a knife approaches an officer before being shot.
Published Thursday, Jan. 23, 2020 | 3:18 p.m.
Updated Thursday, Jan. 23, 2020 | 7:15 p.m.
A knife-wielding man shot by an officer outside a grocery store in December died four days later, Henderson Police announced this week.
Police on Wednesday disclosed the death of John Riddell Watson III, 37, in a video briefing in which they showed officer body-camera footage of the Dec. 14 incident outside the store in the 2700 block of North Green Valley Parkway.
Watson died Dec. 18 from gunshot wounds to the head, the Clark County Coroner’s Office said.
On the day of the shooting, an employee called police about 8 a.m. saying a man was in the store stating, “I have a knife. I’m going to stab somebody. Get the cops here,” according to a recording of the 911 call.
Officer Nicklaus Hamby arrived to find Watson outside the store, police said. With his arms extended and holding an 8-inch blade in his right hand, Watson walked toward Hamby, who yelled at him to drop the knife, the video shows.
Hamby shot Watson four times when he ignored the commands, police said.
Deputy Police Chief Michael Denning also showed a cellphone video from a woman who recorded the shooting from her car. The woman said the man had threatened her and another woman in the store, telling them, “If we don’t want to get stabbed, call the police right now.”
