Body camera video is shown during an officer-involved shooting briefing at Metro Police headquarters Thursday, June 25, 2020. Metro Police officers shot at Edward Alexander on Monday, June 22 after he pointed a rifle toward officers, police said. The red circle shows Alexander’s location in a window.
Thursday, June 25, 2020 | 7:46 p.m.
Four Metro Police officers and a sergeant fired 34 bullets at an armed man during a standoff Monday in an apartment complex near Lake Mead Boulevard and Simmons Street, Assistant Sheriff Chris Jones said Thursday.
But at least 33 of those rounds missed Edward Reginald Alexander as he was only hit on the hand by a fragment of one, said Jones, noting that a Taser was what helped bring the 51-year-old into custody.
“That’s a lot of rounds,” Jones said. “Through this investigation, those officers will be required to answer for every single round that they fired, to ensure that it was within policy.”
The hourslong incident unfolded Monday morning at the Lake Tonopah Senior Apartments, 2151 Citrus Hills Ave., after a staffer reported that a man was swinging a sword as he walked around the complex, Jones said.
In a recording, the 911 caller states that several seniors had complained and asked for someone to call police, noting that the complex had past issues with the man, who was a resident’s guest.
Realizing that officers were dealing with a possible volatile and life-threatening incident, Metro activated its STAR Protocol, which requires a supervisor to respond. One of the officers arrived in a tactical vehicle equipped with low-lethal tools, Jones said.
Alexander, who was described as being “agitated” and with the samurai sword sheathed on his back, was standing in a half-enclosed first-floor patio when officers arrived, body-camera footage broadcast by Jones showed.
Jones said the suspect stated that he suffered from PTSD and didn’t have meds. Officers pleaded with Alexander for “a few” minutes, trying to persuade him to drop the 27-inch blade.
Officers widened the distance between them and Alexander in hopes of a peaceful conclusion, Jones said. At some point residents were asked to leave their apartments or shelter in place, he added.
But Alexander entered the apartment and exited, this time armed with a Glenfield Model 60 .22-caliber rifle.
When he pointed the loaded long gun, officers waited about 15 seconds and then opened fire, causing him to go back inside, according to the body-camera footage. A second volley of bullets followed when he re-emerged moments later and pointed his gun at them again.
Sgt. Matthew Vorce, 42, pulled the trigger 15 times; Officer Nicholas Gomez, 26, seven times; Officer David Pangan, 44, five times; Officer Justin Terry, 40, six times, and Officer Gregory Tracy, 39, fired a single bullet.
Alexander ran back inside and paced back and forth. It wasn’t until he came out to the courtyard about 2 1/2 hours later that Metro SWAT used a Taser to bring him down, Jones said.
After being treated at a hospital, Alexander was booked into the Clark County Detention Center on seven counts of assault with a deadly weapon against a protected person, and a felon in unlawful possession of a handgun, Jones said.
Metro investigators checked to see if Alexander was a military veteran but couldn’t find a record for him, Jones said.
The officers were placed on routine paid administrative leave as the investigation was ongoing. This was the 10th time in 2020 that Metro officers have opened fire on suspects.
