Police: Man waving gun on Strip was suffering ‘mental health crisis’

By Chris Kudialis

Published Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2016 | 10:46 a.m.

Updated Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2016 | 3:25 p.m.

A man suffering a “mental health crisis” was pointing an unloaded gun at people along the Las Vegas Strip and pulling the trigger Friday night before an officer fired at him, grazing two bystanders, Metro Police said today.

At a news conference this morning, Undersheriff Kevin McMahill said the .38-caliber handgun carried by the suspect, 20-year-old Kahleal Black, had been stolen last month in a north valley home invasion. He said police are investigating how Black got the weapon.

"We're very fortunate Black's gun was not loaded or we might have had a very different and tragic outcome," McMahill said.

McMahill said it was not the first time officers had encountered Black.

In January 2015, Black was arrested in connection with obstructing an officer and held for a psychiatric evaluation after making suicidal threats, McMahill said. He said Black was released on Feb. 18 but did not further discuss the circumstances or outcome of the case.

McMahill also released new details about the bystanders grazed when Officer George Smith fired two shots at Black that missed.

The first round struck the left shoulder of a homeless man’s jacket, McMahill said. The second shot ricocheted off a pillar and hit the right leg of a 4-year-old boy who was on his father’s shoulders, he said.

The ricocheted shot did not break the boy’s skin but left a welt, McMahill said. The child was treated at University Medical Center and released the same night in good condition, police said.

McMahill did not release further information about the boy or his family.

Police responded about 7:10 p.m. Friday to reports of a man walking in and out of Strip traffic near the Bellagio, waving a gun and pointing it at passers-by, police said.

Smith, a 10-year Metro veteran, approached Black, who ignored verbal commands to raise his hands, police said.

Smith fired from 30 feet away after Black pointed his gun at him, McMahill said. Smith’s two shots, both of which missed Black, traveled nearly 300 feet before ricocheting off the pillars at the Bellagio, he said.

Police apprehended Black, familiar to Strip buskers as someone who frequently sells goods to tourists, and seized a handgun, police said.

He faces four counts of assault with a deadly weapon, one count of resisting a police officer with a firearm and one count of possession of a stolen firearm.

Black was “absolutely uncooperative” at the time of his arrest, and police placed a spit mask over his face, McMahill said.

He said Black originally gave a false name, but police later identified him through fingerprints.

About 25 minutes before the shooting, Black had been escorted from Harrah’s for “causing a disturbance," McMahill said.

Black was being held without bail at the Clark County Detention Center and is scheduled to appear in Las Vegas Justice Court at 7:30 a.m. Wednesday.