Man arrested in Las Vegas Chinatown shooting

Las Vegas police said Monday that they have arrested a man in connection with the shooting of a waiter at ShangHai Taste.

Rashawn Gaston-Anderson, 23, was taken into custody on Monday afternoon after a citizen tip, according to the Metropolitan Police Department. Police had previously identified him as the suspect in the shooting of Chengyan Wang, a waiter at ShangHai Taste.

Police said a masked gunman stormed into the restaurant near Wynn Road at 2:55 a.m. on Dec. 20, then shot Wang 11 times. Wang has since undergone multiple surgeries and is recovering in the Intensive Care Unit at University Medical Center, restaurant co-owner Joe Muscaglione said Monday.

Numerous fundraisers had collected more than $33,000 for Wang as of Monday afternoon, as the Las Vegas community rallied to support him.

Spring Valley area command captain Michelle Tavarez said there was no evidence to indicate the shooting of Wang was a hate crime. Instead, it is believed to be a burglary that likely has connections to a previously unreported burglary in the same shopping complex about 10 days prior to the shooting.

“It appears to be a burglary gone wrong,” Tavarez said. “We believe the suspect came into the building to make a quick buck… and he encountered our victim. We are so grateful he is alive and survived. It is not every day that someone gets shot 11 times and lives through it. God was on his side.”

District Court records show Gaston-Anderson pleaded guilty to attempted grand larceny in 2018 and was sentenced to 18 months of probation. He was charged in November with burglary and grand larceny and on Dec. 6 with pandering and carrying a concealed weapon without a permit, according to Las Vegas Justice Court records.

It was not clear Monday night when he would appear in court, or what charges he was facing.

Contact Jonah Dylan at jdylan@reviewjournal.com. Follow @TheJonahDylan on Twitter.