FBI agent shoots murder suspect at Arizona Charlie’s

An FBI agent shot a murder suspect while trying to arrest him Thursday at Arizona Charlie's on Boulder Highway, at least the third shooting by an FBI agent in Southern Nevada since 1992.

The agent was working with the multi-agency Criminal Apprehension Team to surveil and arrest the man, whose name was not released, Las Vegas FBI spokesman Patrick Turner said.

During the arrest, at the property's apartment-style hotel rooms away from the casino, the agent shot the suspect about 2 p.m., Turner said. The suspect was taken to a hospital, where he underwent surgery.

Turner did not know the extent of the person's injuries.

It was unclear what prompted the shooting. Turner said the man was armed at the time of the arrest.

The man was wanted on multiple local charges including murder and robbery, but Turner would not elaborate.

Turner said he couldn't provide more information until an FBI review team has interviewed everyone involved in the incident. Those teams are typically based in Washington, D.C.

Thursday afternoon, several plainclothes officers stood around an area on the southeast corner of the hotel-casino, on Boulder Highway at Twain Avenue, where three evidence markers were placed in the grass outside one of the hotel buildings.

The law enforcement team, which is made up of local and federal officers in Southern Nevada, is tasked with helping detectives arrest suspects in serious crimes. It is considered one of the most dangerous assignments in law enforcement.

In 1998, a Las Vegas police sergeant and agent Dave McKean, as part of CAT, arrested a robbery and kidnapping suspect less than a block away from the scene of Thursday's incident.

But during that arrest, the suspect struggled and called for help.

Terry Brown, then 19, came running. He confronted officers before he ran to a car, where he got inside and struck McKean and the sergeant.

Both officers fired on Brown, who was not wounded. He was captured nearby.

In 1992, agent Mike Levin partnered with North Las Vegas police to arrest three people suspected of trafficking in drugs.

When the officers tried to arrest one of the suspects at a shopping center at Nellis Boulevard and Bonanza Road, two others fled in a car to a dead-end street.

One of those suspects got out of the car and was arrested.

The second person in the car, Jose Luis Castro, wouldn't get out.

Levin, with a gun drawn, leaned through a car window, and Castro grabbed the agent's jacket, tried to pull him in, and reached for a knife.

Levin broke free and fired once, grazing Castro's chin. He was arrested at the scene.

Turner said the FBI will lead the investigation into Thursday's incident.

"We have a tried-and-true process" for investigating shootings by bureau officers, he said.

Las Vegas police refused to comment on the incident or the crime the suspect was believed to have been involved in.

Review-Journal writer Jeff German contributed to this report. Contact reporter Lawrence Mower at lmower@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0440.