Police: Accused state building shooter knew man he shot

A 73-year-old man faces an attempted murder charge after Las Vegas police say he shot another man at a state office building over a decade-old workers compensation dispute from which he wanted more than $1.4 million in relief.

Leonard Sullivan walked into the Department of Administration’s Hearings Division building, at 2200 S. Rancho Drive, near Sahara Avenue, just before 9 a.m. Monday, according to a Las Vegas police arrest report. He was decked out in a suit and hat and walked with a cane.

But he was armed with a revolver, police said, and he used it to shoot Michael Kogler.

The two men met in 2003 when Sullivan filed a workman compensations complaint after tripping over a bell cart at The Mirage, then owned by MGM Mirage, now called MGM Resorts International. Kogler was an MGM insurance coordinator on the case.

Over the course of several years, Sullivan saw multiple doctors. One of the doctors MGM sent Sullivan to said the man was suffering from post-traumatic chronic cluster headaches and chronic migraines. Another reported to MGM in 2010 that Sullivan’s headaches were a result of the injury and recommended that Sullivan not return to work. He said Sullivan would need long-term care due to his injuries, and that he was “totally and permanently disabled.”

MGM sent that doctor a follow-up letter requesting clarification, and the doctor confirmed his answers. Then the company cut off support for Sullivan and closed his case.

In response, Sullivan submitted to the court multiple letters he sent to MGM requesting the DVD of his fall and seeking to reopen his case. According to Sullivan, these letters were never answered. He then had a lawyer request the DVD for him. In later court documents, MGM does not offer the DVD to the court but simply says his claim should be dismissed.

Kogler, an insurance coordinator, was one of three MGM employees Sullivan named in his court filings.

On Monday at the state office building, Sullivan passed Michael Kogler, who now works as a hearing advocate for a law firm, and “yelled out” his name, police said. When Kogler replied “yes,” Sullivan shot him once in the upper chest, according to the report.

On Tuesday, Kogler was hospitalized at University Medical Center and was listed in critical but stable condition. He was expected to survive, police said.

Before being taken to the hospital, Kogler told police that he remembered Sullivan from when they both worked at an MGM company 10 years ago.

“The S.O.B. shot me,” Kogler told a witness at the scene.

A security guard told police that after the shooting Sullivan seemed unstable and had a trouble putting down the gun.

Witnesses told police that Sullivan was seen walking around the building as if he was looking for someone. He declined offers of help, the report said.

Sullivan told the guard that Kogler had been “messing over him for 10 years.” While in handcuffs, Sullivan told the guard that he was going to put the gun into his own mouth, the report said.

When police arrived, Sullivan was upset that the FBI had not responded, the report said.

One of Sullivan’s acquaintances called police on Sunday to report him missing. That person told police that Sullivan made suicidal statements.

Sullivan faces one count of attempted murder, police said.

Contact Ricardo Torres at rtorres@reviewjournal.com and 702-383-0381. Find him on Twitter: @rickytwrites. Contact Annalise Little at alittle@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0391. Find her on Twitter: @annalisemlittle.