Officers fatally shoot armed man at Summerlin Costco

By Kyle B. Hansen

Published Saturday, July 10, 2010 | 1:55 p.m.

Updated Saturday, July 10, 2010 | 7:12 p.m.

A man walked into a busy Costco store in Summerlin armed with two guns Saturday afternoon, eventually pulling out a weapon and prompting Metro Police to fatally shoot the gunman.

Police Capt. Patrick Neville said Costco security personnel called police at 12:47 p.m. after the man began destroying merchandise in the store. After the call, store security noticed the man had a gun and began to evacuate the business, Neville said.

The store is at 801 S. Pavilion Center Drive, which is near the Charleston Boulevard and Las Vegas Beltway interchange. The business was mostly evacuated when officers arrived.

Police approached the man just outside Costco's front doors near a display of tires.

Neville said an officer tapped the man on the shoulder. The man turned around and the officer saw a gun in the man's waistband, police said.

The officer ordered the man to the ground, but the gunman refused, police said. Neville said the gunman then pulled out the gun in his waistband, prompting three officers to fire multiple shots.

The man was taken to University Medical Center, where he later died.

At the hospital, medical personnel discovered a second gun on the man. Both were semi-automatic handguns.

Neville estimated about 20 people were in the vicinity when the shooting occurred. No one else was injured during the incident.

The man was described as white, about 6-foot-1-inch tall and 190 pounds. He was in his 30s or 40s, police said. His name will be released by the Clark County Coroner's Office.

Neville credited Costco security officials with possibly helping to avoid a more serious incident from taking place.

"Through Costco taking some proactive measures here, that probably stemmed a lot of problems," he said.

Costco was closed Saturday while officers continued their investigation. Authorities interviewed several witnesses to the shooting.

The officers who fired will be placed on paid administrative leave during an investigation, which is standard procedure in officer-involved shootings.