Woman shot in face by SWAT officers after lengthy standoff

When the first officer arrived at the scene of a domestic violence call that would spark a 24-hour standoff with SWAT in the southeast valley late Monday night, he was met by a 10-year-old girl carrying a pistol and a shotgun-wielding man asking for help.

After the officer moved the young girl and the man away from the house at 4516 Newton Drive, near Tropicana Avenue and Mountain Vista Street, a woman, identified in police records as 29-year-old Sara Jones, walked out the front door with a black, .45 caliber pistol raised above her head before going back inside according to Las Vegas police documents.

Early in the standoff, Jones walked out of the house holding a young boy in her arms, and told police she didn’t want to go to jail because she believed her husband framed her, although police did not specify what she was referring to.

The officer continued to talk to Jones for the next hour, hoping to draw her outside peacefully. Jones told the officer several times that she was going to shoot her child and then herself, documents said, and the officer was convinced that she was going to do so while he talked to her.

SWAT units arrived shortly thereafter, and the standoff continued into the morning hours.

After nearly 24 hours of negotiations, police heard a gunshot from inside the house about 10 p.m. Tuesday. Fearing for the two children still inside with Jones, SWAT units made entry into the home.

According to Deputy Chief Al Salinas, Jones was hiding in the master bathroom with the children when SWAT entered. She fired a shot through the door, striking an officer in the leg. The officer was wearing protective shin gear and only had “superficial” injuries, Salinas said. The officer was treated at the scene.

SWAT officers returned fire, striking Jones in the face. She was taken to University Medical Center and is expected to survive her injuries, Salinas said.

Social workers took the two children, who were not hurt.

There was little evidence remaining Wednesday afternoon of the chaos that beset the southeast valley neighborhood the previous day.

A window at the home was shattered, with broken glass strewn about the driveway. The front door was open, but no one was home.

Neighbors either weren’t home or didn’t answer their door, aside from one young house-sitter.

Taylor, 20, said he’d been watching his aunt’s home next door for the last month. He couldn’t get to the house Tuesday after police evacuated the neighborhood.

“Her cat had to survive for a whole day without attention,” he said.

Jones was booked in absentia on charges of kidnapping, child neglect, resisting a public officer with a firearm and assault with a deadly weapon.

The officer involved in the shooting will be placed on routine administrative leave pending an internal review. His name will be released after 48 hours, per department policy.

Contact reporter Mike Blasky at mblasky@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0283. Follow @blasky on Twitter. Contact reporter Colton Lochhead at clochhead@reviewjournal.com or702-383-4638. Follow @ColtonLochhead on Twitter.