Police shoot man who opened fire on woman near I-15

By Rich Coleman

Published Thursday, Feb. 17, 2011 | 3:12 p.m.

Updated Thursday, Feb. 17, 2011 | 9:11 p.m.

A domestic dispute in a moving SUV escalated into gunfire Thursday in the south valley when a man shot his female acquaintance, prompting police to fire at the gunman, authorities said.

The man and woman were taken to local hospitals in critical condition, police said. No officers or other citizens were injured.

Metro Lt. Lew Roberts said the incident began about 2:30 p.m. when police received calls reporting that a man was shooting at passersby from inside a red SUV parked on the side of Blue Diamond Road just west of the Interstate 15 interchange.

Police responded and a detective saw a man in his 30s firing from the vehicle, authorities said. An officer shot the man, critically injuring him, police said.

Roberts said the gunman was in the SUV with two male friends and a woman he was in a relationship with when a dispute erupted between the man and woman. The SUV had been northbound on I-15, but the driver exited at westbound Blue Diamond Road as the dispute became more heated.

Police said the man punched one of his friends and then assaulted the woman. The friend who was driving parked the vehicle and tried to calm the gunman. That's when the man pulled out a shotgun, Roberts said.

The woman and the two friends ran from the car, but the gunman followed, shooting the woman as motorists zoomed past. The woman, who ran for help to some nearby construction workers, was found with critical injuries, but authorities said she is expected to survive.

The two men ran for safety to a nearby Jack in the Box and weren't injured, Roberts said. They initially were taken into custody, but police said they aren't expected to be charged.

"He had already shot her and he definitely would have shot them," Roberts said. "They fled to a safe place."

The construction workers the woman sought out contacted two Metro motorcycle officers conducting routine traffic enforcement in the area, police said. As they arrived at the scene, the gunman fired at least one round at passing motorists and shot at the officers, police said.

One officer returned fire, hitting the suspect, police said. When the officers started to handcuff the man, he violently resisted and was subdued with an electronic control device, police said.

The two officers involved were placed on paid administrative leave, which is standard procedure in officer-involved shootings.

The Nevada Highway Patrol briefly shut down the southbound lanes of Interstate 15 near Blue Diamond Road, as well as the exit itself.

Traffic moved to a crawl in the south valley near the interstate as motorists sought other routes. I-15 traffic was backed up north of the Las Vegas Beltway interchange while eastbound Beltway traffic trying to exit onto southbound I-15 was backed up to Decatur Boulevard.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.