Downtown fatal shooting solved thanks to surveillance footage, police say

Police used video surveillance footage to piece together how a fight led to a fatal downtown shooting last month.

At around 1 a.m. on Sept. 27, officers responded to a bus stop near Stewart Avenue and Las Vegas Boulevard North after reports of a shooting.

A 45-year-old man later identified by the coroner as Edward Lewis died at the scene from multiple gunshot wounds, according to a Metropolitan Police Department arrest warrant.

Last week, police said 38-year-old Lawrence White was arrested in Denver in connection with the shooting.

Court records show White has been charged with open murder but has yet to be extradited back to Nevada as of Tuesday night.

Lewis was seen in surveillance footage standing on the sidewalk when two people walked by. He walked in their direction and a short time later was seen running back into the frame before falling face first onto Las Vegas Boulevard and not moving. The two people who walked past Lewis are then seen running past his body, according to the warrant.

A 911 caller said Lewis was in a fight with a man when another man came from behind the bus stop bench and shot Lewis in the back.

Police tracked the men who fled the scene back to an apartment complex using the surveillance footage and, combined with an anonymous tip, identified White as a suspect, according to the warrant.

When police went to search the apartment associated with White, it was found that the residents had moved out early and the unit had been cleaned out.

The warrant does not state what led police to White in Denver.

Contact David Wilson at dwilson@reviewjournal.com.