Police say 2 killed in argument over drugs in central Las Vegas
Two people were killed and a third person went to the hospital after a shooting near downtown late Wednesday night.
A man and a woman in their 20s were found dead inside an apartment on the 900 block of West Washington Avenue just before 11 p.m., said Lt. Dan McGrath with Metropolitan Police Department’s homicide unit.
Police initially received a call of a person being shot, he said. A man ran from the apartment in between the buildings and down H Street before ending up near West McWilliams Avenue, McGrath said.
Police said he was shot in both hands and was taken to University Medical Center. Officers traced his movements back to the apartment, where the two bodies were found.
McGrath said two men entered the apartment and a quarrel ensued over drugs.
“They just started shooting,” McGrath said, “(the man shot in the hands) ends up running out.”
McGrath said the man might have been chased from the apartment. He left a blood trail and detectives found casings in the street. The man is Metro’s only witness as of early Thursday.
Additional information was limited, McGrath said. Metro’s gang unit was on scene, and McGrath said somebody involved had a gang affiliation.
Homicides aren’t common in the neighborhood, which area Capt. Robert Plummer attributed to police efforts.
“We still have pockets of violence, but this area over here has been very quiet,” he said.
Plummer, who oversees Metro for parts of the north central valley, said officers will have to work to restore peace in the neighborhood. He cautioned drug dealers against setting up shop.
“It’s frustrating,” Plummer said.
He credited the work put in by faith-based leaders helping to negate violence in the area.
“It’s things like this that set us back sometimes,” he said.
These mark the ninth and 10th homicides investigated by Metro and the 11th and 12th in Clark County in 2017.
Contact Mike Shoro at mshoro@reviewjournal.com. Follow @mike_shoro on Twitter.
