Las Vegas police ID officer who shot Bellagio robbery suspect
Las Vegas police have identified the officer who fatally shot a man outside a Strip hotel following an armed robbery Friday night.
Officer Joaquin Escobar, 29, has been with the Metropolitan Police Department since April 2017, according to a Metro release Sunday night.
The man was shot about 9:45 p.m. Friday after police said he approached a Bellagio poker cage area and demanded money. He fled through the north doors and tried to steal a vehicle from the valet area.
As he ran, he fired at least one shot at officers, striking one. A second officer, Escobar, returned fire and struck the man. The robbery suspect was hospitalized in critical condition but later died, said Metropolitan Police Department spokesman Aden OcampoGomez.
The officer who was shot was treated and released from University Medical Center early Saturday.
“The officer had his bulletproof vest on, which probably saved his life,” Metro Capt. Nichole Splinter said early Saturday.
Escobar is assigned to Convention Area Command’s Tourist Safety Division. He has been placed on routine paid administrative leave pending a review of the shooting, police said.
