Henderson police fatally shoot assault suspect

Henderson police shot and killed a possibly suicidal man after a lengthy standoff early Wednesday morning.

Police spokesman Keith Paul said dispatchers received a call about 11:35 p.m. Tuesday from a woman who said her ex-boyfriend assaulted her in the parking lot of a gas station near Eastern and Serene avenues in the south valley. The woman said the man had a gun.

About 15 minutes later police located the 36-year-old man walking on a sidewalk on St. Rose Parkway, near Eastern. When they approached the man, he ran.

The man fell into a drainage ditch near an enclosed wash, pointed the handgun at himself and began making suicidal statements, Paul said. Officers negotiated with the man for about two hours.

At about 1:50 a.m., the man moved the gun from his head and pointed it at SWAT officers, Paul said. The officers shot him.

Police pulled the man from the ditch, and paramedics attempted to revive him in a nearby parking lot, but he died at the scene.

The Clark County coroner's office will release his name after his family has been notified.

Wednesday's shooting was the second officer-involved shooting in Henderson this year and the third involving Henderson officers.

In February, several officers working with a multi-agency fugitive task force shot and killed 23-year-old Jason Baires in Las Vegas.

In July, that same task force shot and killed 43-year-old Andy Puente Soto in Henderson after a short car chase.

Soto and Baires were both fugitives wanted on murder charges. Henderson Detective David Rowlett fired his weapon in both shootings.

Las Vegas police officers were involved in Baires' shooting and were the primary agency investigating the incident, which was ruled justified by the Clark County district attorney's office.

The officers involved in the Wednesday shooting are officer Tyler Bailey, employed with Henderson police since 2007; officer Justin Dera, employed since 2002; and officer Jesse Lujan, employed since 1997.

Contact reporter Mike Blasky at mblasky@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0283.