Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Hail of bullets leaves man dead, homes struck in central valley

Metro

Ricardo Torres-Cortez

Metro Police investigate a shooting in the 1500 block of Del Monte Avenue, where more than 20 bullets were fired, killing a man, Thursday Jan. 17, 2019.

More than 20 gunshots blasted in a central valley neighborhood Thursday evening, fatally wounding a man — who was found lying on the street — and piercing multiple houses, according to Metro Police.

As of late Thursday, there were no other known injuries, said Lt. Ray Spencer, noting that detectives were dealing with a “very complex” investigation.

The 911 calls to the 1500 block of Del Monte Avenue, a neighborhood tucked behind a business complex near Oakey and Decatur boulevards, began to come in at 5:53 p.m., Spencer said.

Soon, in a “quick and rapid” response, multiple Metro units began to swarm the scene, where officers spotted a man lying on the street with a gunshot wound, Spencer said.

The wound proved to be fatal, and the victim, only identified as a Hispanic man, died at University Medical Center, Spencer said.

Detectives were exploring the possibility that there was more than one shooter involved, and there were unconfirmed reports that the victim may have been armed, Spencer said.

What had become clear early in the investigation was that the victim and his killer “knew each other or had some prior relationship,” Spencer said.

Yet, many unknowns remained.

Spencer said a group of people was seen scattering after gunfire erupted, although it wasn’t clear if they were involved or simply eyewitnesses.

“It’s very dynamic still,” Spencer said. “We will be here all night trying to piece this together just because the amount of witnesses, the amount of neighbors — it's going to be a very complex investigation.”

By 11 p.m. yellow police tape and patrol officers maintained a restricted access to multiple neighborhoods in the area.

This was the second fatal shooting investigation of the day by Metro homicide detectives. Not long before shots were fired in this shooting, Spencer briefed the public from downtown Las Vegas, where a security guard fatally wounded a man near the Fremont Street Experience.