Las Vegas police: 11-year-old ‘extremely critical’ after shooting
An 11-year-old boy is in “extremely critical” condition after being shot in the head in an apartment at Vegas Drive and Pebble Beach Boulevard early Monday morning, Las Vegas police said.
Police were called to the apartment at 5208 Pebble Beach Blvd just after 5 a.m. and found the boy in the apartment, Sgt. Matthew Sanford said. A spokesman earlier said the boy was shot in the head and was taken to University Medical Center.
Sanford said the boy was in “extremely critical” condition late Monday.
Police are still investigating whether the shooting was accidental or intentional, and have not yet said who owned the firearm recovered at the scene. No arrests have been made.
Sanford said two families live in the apartment, and other children live there, too. No other injuries were reported. Police are in contact with the mother, but the whereabouts of the child’s father is unknown, Sanford said.
Erick Machuca, who said he has lived in the apartment complex for about two years, said he is neighbors with the boy’s family. He said he heard the shot but thought it was a firework being detonated. He described the boy’s family as “nice,” and said the family has lived in the rundown apartment complex for about six months.
Machuca said he doesn’t know which boy was shot, but thinks he often saw him playing tag and soccer.
The decayed apartment complex where the shooting occurred is in an older area of Las Vegas. Each unit in the dirty beige stucco buildings has its own storage unit, and each pink door has been kicked in, showing nothing but trash inside.
Describing activity in the area, Machuca said, “There’s been a stabbing here, a shooting ... (it’s) pretty much a dangerous neighborhood.”
The presence of children is obvious by the bicycles, scooters and strollers outside and in front of some of the apartments.
“Seems like every night I hear gunshots,” said a man who lives in the area and did not want to give his name. “It’s a really disturbing thing that some 11-year-old got shot. That disturbs me; that pisses me off.”
Contact Cassandra Taloma at ctaloma@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0391. Contact Ricardo Torres at rtorres@reviewjournal.com or 702-783-0381. Find him on Twitter: @rickytwrites.
