Male shot by police in east valley released from hospital, booked into custody

A man shot by Las Vegas police in the east valley Tuesday afternoon was treated at University Medical Center and booked in jail by Tuesday night, Metro said on scene.

That scene was the intersection of Asbury Hill Avenue and Pecos Road, which is just south of Bonanza Road and just east of the Desert Pines Golf Course. It was there at least one officer shot the male at about 2:52 p.m., Metropolitan Police Department officer Larry Hadfield said.

About a half-hour before the shooting, someone reported a 1990s-model Honda Accord stolen to Metro. In the minutes that followed, as officers responded to a separate reckless driving call, they discovered the vehicle they were pursuing was the one originally reported stolen.

Billy Long, 42, said he was working construction that afternoon at Pecos and Owens Avenue, about a mile north of Bonanza, when a car racing southbound on Pecos sped past him, tailed by eight police cars.

"He was running all the lights, red lights," Long, a traffic technician, said. "He didn't want to stop at all."

Long said the car was smoking as it passed him.

Police put spike strips down just south of Owens, he said. The driver hit the spikes and his car started swerving, coming to rest at a 7-Eleven on the southeast corner of Pecos and Bonanza roads.

When the car stopped, the male driver jumped out and ran onto Asbury Hill, leaving his driver door open. As he ran, Metro Capt. Matt McCarthy said, an air unit could spot that the male had a gun in his hand.

As an unmarked police car pulled onto Asbury Hill, the male walked out from between two homes. There was a brief confrontation when McCarthy said the male pointed his gun at at least one officer, who fired, wounding the male.

He was transported to University Medical Center where he was treated for nonlife-threatening injuries. By about 6 p.m., he'd been medically released and booked at the Clark County Detention Center "on a number of felony charges," McCarthy said.

A firearm was recovered on scene.

McCarthy did not take questions on scene Tuesday, so it was unclear how old the male was or how many officers fired. But Metro said it will name whoever was involved in the shooting this week, followed by a more detailed briefing on the incident.

Maxell Saavedra, a 14-year-old Eldorado High School student, was walking home from his bus stop when he decided to stop at the 7-Eleven that afternoon for a snack. Two ambulances blew past the convenience store and into the Asbury Hill neighborhood about 3 p.m.

"They came in a rush," Saavedra said.

Bonanza's eastbound lanes remained closed between Mojave Road and Pecos for hours while police investigated. Southbound Pecos and the 7-Eleven were taped off from traffic about 7:30 p.m.

This was the second officer-involved shooting this year within Metro's jurisdiction this year. The first was last Friday, when an officer shot at a man on the Strip who was brandishing an unloaded gun in front of the Bellagio fountain show, pointing it at people and pulling the trigger.

Las Vegas Review-Journal writer Wesley Juhl contributed to this report. Contact Rachel Crosby at rcrosby@reviewjournal.com or at 702-387-5290. Find her on Twitter: @rachelacrosby Contact Kimber Laux at klaux@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0381. Find her on Twitter: @lauxkimber