‘Somebody is in here shooting’: 911 audio captures terror of Las Vegas gym violence
The 911 calls made by dozens of callers after a fatal shooting at a Las Vegas Athletic Clubs gym earlier this month were shedding new light on the chaos and terror that unfolded in the moments after the gunman opened fire and then was shot dead by police officers.
“We have someone that is shooting in our gym right now,” one caller, an LVAC front desk worker, told dispatchers before several loud bangs could be heard in the background. “I’m enclosed in a closet, but there is somebody in here shooting.”
Daniel Ortega, 34, shot and killed LVAC manager Edgar Quinonez and injured three others before he was killed by Metropolitan Police Department officers outside the gym at 1725 N. Rainbow Blvd. on May 16. In a press conference three days later, Assistant Sheriff Jamie Prosser said a mass casualty event was likely avoided because Ortega’s rifle jammed.
Ortega arrived at the LVAC at 1:33 p.m. and officers arrived at the scene by 1:39 p.m., police said. Dispatchers began fielding calls about shots fired at 1:34, according to the call audio.
Metro has not yet publicly identified Ortega’s possible motivation for the attack, but this week released more than 90 minutes of call audio between dispatchers and the more than three dozen employees, gym goers, patrons of neighboring businesses and others who called to report the shooting. Some accounts were given from callers holed up inside the gym, while others reported interactions with Ortega moments before he exited the gym and was fatally shot by officers.
‘Somebody is in here shooting’
The names of each caller were redacted by police, but one of the first 911 callers — the woman who said she was in a closet — described seeing a lone gunman later identified as Ortega walking into the gym and demanding she and other employees leave.
“When he came in, he told me to move,” the woman said, noting she also observed Ortega allowing a gym patron to exit past him. “He didn’t shoot me, he was just like, ‘Get out of the way … I was at the front desk and (Ortega) was like, ‘You better get away’ and he came behind the desk.”
That caller stated she was in a closet with several others, and calls from others indicated they had sought shelter inside fitness rooms and bathrooms. Some had accessed the roof. Other callers said they saw dozens of people exit the gym en masse to seek refuge at a nearby hotel, while one caller reportedly saw someone in need of medical aid but was instructed to leave by officers.
“Can you render aid?” the dispatcher asked.
“I will try,” he said. “Law enforcement is telling me to get out.”
‘You should get out of here’
One purported gym goer said he approached the gym at the same time as Ortega, and initially thought Ortega was a police officer. After a brief exchange with Ortega, the man told dispatchers that Ortega said the gun was fake, but that he should leave the area.
“The way he was dressed, I thought he was a cop or something like that because nobody was freaking out or doing anything,” the man said. “I just assumed everything was fine. I just walked back in and he walked back in at the same time, and that’s when I looked at him and I just said, ‘Is that a gun? Is that real?’”
“He goes, ‘No, it’s fake, but you should get out of here,’” the man continued.
Multiple 911 calls recorded what sounded like gunfire. Police said Ortega fired 24 rounds before the gun, an Olympic Arms PCR .223 rifle, malfunctioned.
One caller who stated they were an employee believed there were between 100 and 150 people inside the gym when Ortega opened fire.
One man reported being injured. He told dispatchers he was being driven to a nearby hospital.
“It was so many different shots and people started running,” the man said. “I’m on my way to the hospital. I just wanted to let you know to send the police.”
Contact Casey Harrison at charrison@reviewjournal.com.