Strip security guard accused of shooting tourist in hip

A security guard was arrested after police said he shot and injured a tourist near an outdoor mall on the Strip.

Deangelo Sneed, 20, has been charged with one felony count of assault with a deadly weapon and another count of carrying a concealed firearm in connection with an incident on Aug. 30.

According to his arrest report, Sneed is accused of shooting Demetrius Merrill, of Chicago, in the hip at the Grand Bazaar Shops, which is connected by an escalator to Horseshoe Las Vegas.

Police reported that Sneed, an unarmed security officer for Securitas, had been working that night. Because of his age, Sneed is prohibited from purchasing handguns online, police said, but he brought his brother’s Glock 19X to work without telling his supervisors.

After the shooting, Merrill ran to a nearby bar, Bottled Blonde, leaving a trail of blood on the sidewalk, police said in the report. He was transported to University Medical Center, where he was treated for his injuries.

Merrill later told police that Sneed had interrupted a conversation between Merrill and his fiancée, Victoria Thompson, who was upset over an escape room activity they had just left with a few other couples. Sneed told Merrill to leave Thompson alone before the dispute escalated, according to the report.

Police said Merrill taunted Sneed before the two “were chest to chest … The security officer grabbed his waist and told Demetrius, ‘I got this button for you.’ ”

Officers also noted in the report that “button” is slang for a fully automatic firearm. Afterward, Sneed and Merrill pushed and shoved each other, and Sneed was knocked to the ground, police said. Surveillance footage showed that the rest of Merrill’s group punched and kicked Sneed while he was down.

When Sneed eventually got up, he pulled out a brown handgun.

Then, police said, Merrill put his hands out to the side and said, “What are you gonna do, shoot me in front of all these people?” The footage also showed that Merrill took about eight steps toward Sneed before Sneed raised the firearm and shot Merrill one time, police said.

Afterward, police interviewed Scott Reynolds, who had worked security for the Grand Bazaar Shops for years and witnessed the shooting. He told detectives that guards are not supposed to be armed and, instead, that their job is to “talk and ask.”

Two women also threw water at Sneed before he fired at Merrill, according to Reynolds and another security guard, D’Twon Vercher.

Police also talked to Sneed, who said he shot Merrill to “stop him.” But detectives said that video footage of the incident showed that Sneed had approached the group with his hand on his gun after the physical altercation had already subsided.

Court records indicate that Sneed was released under high-level electronic monitoring and was prohibited from contacting the victims, among other conditions. He is due in court again on Dec. 9.

Contact Akiya Dillon at adillon@reviewjournal.com.