Memorial for LVAC shooting victim held at Arts District bar
Family, friends and Las Vegas Athletic Clubs gym members trickled into an Arts District bar Saturday evening to remember the gym manager fatally shot while on the job last month.
Edgar Quinonez, 31, was shot and killed by Daniel Ortega, 34, on May 16 at the LVAC at 1725 N. Rainbow Blvd. Three other people were injured in the shooting.
“His personality was chill,” Chris Patterson, who worked with Quinonez at LVAC, said before entering the venue Saturday. “He always used to come in chill and happy. He didn’t have nothing bad to say about anybody. He always said, ‘Keep it moving, keep going, keep the positivity going.’”
Patterson expected a large turnout for Saturday evening’s event, which was held at SoulBelly BBQ and HUDL Brewing Co. on South Main Street from 6 to 10 p.m.
Since Quinonez’s death, Patterson said there has been an outpouring of support for the former manager. Gym members ask about Quinonez and have signed a book in his memorial.
“He has a lot of love,” Patterson said.
Quinonez was described in LVAC social media posts after the shooting as a “beloved part of the LVAC family for 15 years.”
He grew up in Las Vegas, April Dianna, an ex-girlfriend and friend previously said. He was a big fan of the Golden Knights and was fanatical about sports, she added.
Averted mass casualties
Ortega arrived at the LVAC at 1:33 p.m. and officers arrived at the scene by 1:39 p.m., police said. Dispatchers began fielding calls about shots fired at 1:34, according to 911 call audio.
Patterson, who worked the night shift, said he had been texting Quinonez just 20 minutes before the shooting. He texted him frantically after hearing about the shooting, but never heard back.
In a news conference three days after the shooting, Las Vegas Police Department Assistant Sheriff Jamie Prosser said a mass casualty event was likely avoided because Ortega’s rifle jammed.
Ortega was a member of the gym, Prosser said. Metro has not yet publicly identified Ortega’s possible motive for the attack.
Contact Katie Futterman at kfutterman@reviewjournal.com. Follow @ktfutts on X and @katiefutterman.bsky.social.