Man fired 11 shots at officers, Las Vegas police say

A 25-year-old man facing attempted murder charges fired 11 rounds at officers Sunday, according to a briefing by Las Vegas police Wednesday afternoon.

Officers were called to to the 8900 block of Happy Stream Avenue at 3:11 a.m. Sunday after a report of a suicidal man who was armed with a gun and making threats against his ex-girlfriend while standing outside her home, according to Metropolitan Police Department Assistant Sheriff Brett Zimmerman.

When police arrived, Nicholas Tano got into his 2003 Mercury sedan and drove away. Metro officers Michael Hennessey, 30, and Eric Wennerberg, 36, followed Tano, who pulled over nearby at El Capitan Way and Grand Teton Drive, Zimmerman said.

Police showed body camera footage from Wennerberg in which Tano can be seen exiting the car and going to the trunk, where officers said he grabbed a handgun and fired 11 rounds at Wennerberg and Hennessey. Five shots hit the two police cruisers, but the officers were uninjured.

Wennerberg fired one round back, and Hennessey can be heard on the video firing seven rounds. Tano wasn’t struck by the shots.

Zimmerman said Tano then ran away and SWAT and crisis negotiators were called in. After about four hours, Tano can be seen on police helicopter footage putting his hands up and walking toward SWAT.

“We’re glad this came to a peaceful ending,” Zimmerman said. “Our officers could have been seriously injured in this incident. Luckily they were not. They did return fire at this suspect to defend themselves, but in the end we were able to de-escalate this situation and bring this situation to a peaceful ending.”

Police later found another handgun in the trunk of Tano’s sedan.

He is being held without bail in Clark County Detention Center on 11 counts of attempted murder, two counts of attempted murder with a deadly weapon against a protected person, one count of resisting an officer with a deadly weapon, 11 counts of assault with a deadly weapon and 11 counts of discharging a firearm where a person might be endangered.

He is expected to appear in court Sept. 16.

Hennessey has been with Metro since 2016 and Wennerberg since 2018. Both were placed on administrative leave during the investigation.

At Wednesday’s briefing, Zimmerman discussed resources for those feeling suicidal and provided the number for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, 800-273-8255.

Contact Sabrina Schnur at sschnur@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0278. Follow @sabrina_schnur on Twitter.