Metro Police talk by a crime scene investigations truck on Silverado Ranch Boulevard between Pollock Road and Maryland Parkway following an officer-involved shooting Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2021. The suspect in the shooting is believed to be barricaded in an apartment complex.
Friday, Feb. 12, 2021 | 12:41 p.m.
After her husband beat her, then threatened to kill her, a woman slipped a note to her daughter, pleading for help, according to Metro Police.
The daughter summoned police on Tuesday to the woman’s south Las Vegas apartment, Assistant Sheriff Christopher Darcy said today.
As the wife walked down a set of outdoor stairs toward officers, her husband, Demarko Montez Henderson, fired a round at her, striking the metal railing, Darcy said. “She’s lucky to be alive, in my opinion,” he added.
The incident led to an exchange of gunfire between Henderson and officers and continued with an hours-long standoff that ended with the suspect killing himself, Darcy said.
Henderson, 39, who fired at least seven bullets, wasn’t hit by any of the eight rounds shot by two officers, Darcy said.
Metro was summoned shortly before 10 a.m. Tuesday to the apartment complex in the 800 block of East Silverado Ranch Boulevard, near Maryland Parkway.
A woman, who they met nearby, told officers that her mother’s husband had hit her and was threatening to kill her, Darcy said. Sometime before the call, the victim had passed a note to her daughter letting her know, he said.
Officers called the woman on the phone and told her to come outside, where they were waiting to escort her out, Darcy said.
Henderson walked out of the apartment behind her, took aim at her and pulled the trigger, said Darcy, noting that the shot barely missed her.
Officer Jody Cunningham shot at the suspect three times with his handgun, missing, Darcy said.
About 20 minutes later, while officers were taking cover and waiting for their SWAT team members, Henderson emerged and fired at least six rounds at police, Darcy said.
Officer Manuel Papazian, who saw Henderson crouched on the other side of the window, shot at him five times with a rifle, also missing, Darcy said.
Henderson didn’t emerge again and was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound hours later, after starting a small fire in the apartment, Darcy said.
Though shaken, the domestic violence victim wasn’t injured in the shooting, Darcy said.
“We know that these domestic violence calls can often be very, very dangerous,” Darcy said. “It’s a dangerous situation for the victims, and it’s a very dangerous situation for our officers who are involved in them.”
