Police investigate medical waste found at Las Vegas apartments

By Ricardo Torres-Cortez

Tuesday, July 26, 2016 | 7:10 p.m.

Officials are investigating medical waste discovered late Monday in an apartment complex dumpster on Swenson Street near Flamingo Road, according to Metro Police.

Blood vials, cotton balls, gloves and other medical materials were found, said Stephanie Bethel, spokeswoman for the Southern Nevada Health District. The materials had no markings to determine where they came from, she said.

The materials were taken by Republic Services to a medical waste facility to be properly disposed, Bethel said.

Residents who had gathered for a shooting-victim vigil discovered the waste when throwing out trash shortly before midnight, Metro officer Laura Meltzer said. The finding is not part of the shooting investigation, she said.

Officers were called about 7 a.m. Sunday to Hampton Court Apartments, 3955 Swenson, where they found a man suffering from a gunshot wound. He died at the scene, police said.

The man was in a "heated argument" with several people in the parking lot moments before the shooting, police said. Several people and vehicles were seen leaving the scene after the shooting.

Investigators from the Southern Nevada Health District solid-waste-management program were sent to the scene, Bethel said. The incident remains under investigation.