Metro Police and Clark County School District Police are shown on Bonanza Road near Western High School following a shooting Tuesday, March 29, 2022.
Tuesday, April 5, 2022 | 12:05 p.m.
A Clark County School District Police officer fired three shots in a Western High School parking lot last month in an attempt to stop a car that hit a student, body camera footage shows.
Officer Christopher Knight is on routine paid leave pending an investigation of the shooting, which left two juveniles with minor gunshot wounds, Lt. Bryan Zink said at a briefing today.
Shortly after class was dismissed on March 29, Knight and another officer went to the school’s east parking lot after a report of a fight and a possible weapon in a vehicle, Zink said.
As they arrived, a black car with four juveniles in it was pulling into the parking lot from Bonanza Road, Zink said.
The car hit a female student and was heading toward Knight and other students at about 20 mph when the officer opened fire, Zink said.
The car then departed east on Bonanza and dropped off a girl at her parent’s house, Zink said. She was taken to Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center, where she was treated for a gunshot wound and released, Zink said.
The driver drove himself to University Medical Center, where he was met by Metro Police officers, Zink said. He was also treated for a gunshot wound and released, Zink said.
Metro Police searched the car and discovered a gun, Zink said.
The driver, whose name was not released, was arrested on counts of battery with a deadly weapon, possession of a deadly weapon on school property and disregard for public safety, Zink said.
The juveniles in the car were at the school to visit friends when a fight broke out, Zink said.
None of the juveniles in the car are enrolled at district schools, he said.
Zink credited the school officers for responding to the incident so quickly.
“At most of our valley high schools, we have two officers assigned,” Zink said. “It’s a very large area for them to cover.”
The incident marked the first officer-involved shooting on a School District campus since 2005, Zink said.
