Police shoot, kill armed man on Las Vegas Strip

Las Vegas police shot and killed a man who charged at them with a knife on the Strip early Wednesday, authorities said.

Metropolitan Police Department Capt. Sasha Larkin said in a media briefing that just before midnight officers conducted a traffic stop at Joe W. Brown Drive and Karen Avenue. A separate statement from Metro said the traffic stop occurred at 11:09 p.m. Tuesday.

“Upon identifying the driver of the vehicle, officers received information that the driver had active felony warrants from out of state and was to be considered armed and dangerous,” Larkin said. “While waiting for backup, the suspect fled the area in his vehicle, causing officers to go in pursuit of him.”

During the pursuit, the fleeing driver turned onto Las Vegas Boulevard South as a police helicopter tracked him, Larkin said. Police used an “immobilization technique” to disable his vehicle. Police went to arrest the man and saw he was armed with a knife.

“While officers worked to contain the suspect, he turned, squared up on the officers and charged them with a knife in his hand, causing officers to fire their weapon,” Larkin said.

The man was pronounced dead at the scene near Elvis Presley Boulevard.

This was the 15th police shooting in Metro’s jurisdiction this year and the second this week. Police shot and killed a man Sunday at a Summerlin home after they said he was observed stabbing a woman.

Police said recently they have faced an increase in violence along Las Vegas’ tourist corridor. Some of the problems have been attributed to lower room rates as resort properties work to get rooms filled during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“At the end of the day, this is Las Vegas Boulevard,” Larkin said. “We are going to do everything in our power to keep it safe, protect the residents of Las Vegas and the tourists that come here.”

A shooting on July 20 in front of Bellagio received significant media coverage, although no one was injured.

Contact Glenn Puit by email at gpuit@reviewjournal.com. Follow @GlennatRJ on Twitter.