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Man thought to be Las Vegas ax attack victim arrested as aggressor

Updated July 17, 2019 - 10:15 am

After an hourslong investigation Tuesday at a “fluid and dynamic scene,” a man who initially appeared to be a victim in an ax attack was arrested on felony charges.

Nicholas Eric Escamilla, 42, was booked in absentia Tuesday at the Clark County Detention Center on charges of battery and assault — both with a deadly weapon, records show. He remained hospitalized at University Medical Center, where he was taken with survivable injuries, said to Metropolitan Police Department spokeswoman Alejandra Zambrano. His condition wasn’t known Wednesday morning,

The attack happened about 10 a.m. on the 600 block of Altamira Road, near South Buffalo and West Alta drives. At the time, police said Escamilla had been struck at least once by an ax-wielding woman, who had been detained at the scene.

But Zambrano said that by 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, police had determined Escamilla was “actually the primary aggressor,” and that the woman was acting in self-defense.

“It was a fluid and dynamic scene involving a lot of folks inside the residence,” Zambrano said. “It was all over the place.”

Escamilla is being held on $15,000 bail, according to jail records.

Contact Rio Lacanlale at rlacanlale@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0381. Follow @riolacanlale on Twitter.

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