Man arrested at Greyhound station after shots fired at guards

Las Vegas police arrested a Texas man Thursday night after multiple shots were fired at the Greyhound bus station on Main Street.

James Abney, 64, of Forney, Texas, was asked to leave the station several times by security guards, produced a firearm and fired several rounds, both inside and outside the terminal about 6:40 p.m., according to police. No one was injured.

Abney pulled the gun on a security guard who had approached him. The guard began to plead for his life, saying that he had a child he wanted to see again, according to the arrest report. The guard began to back away from Abney, but was not sure the gun was real, even after he heard the first shot.

Abney continued to follow the guard as he ran into the bus station to call 911, the report states. The guard told police he ran out and to the west of the bus station, he heard another shot.

The guard met up with his supervisor, who attempted to block Abney inside by moving her car in front of the entrance. When she saw Abney walking toward her, she ran. Three more shots were fired, according to the report.

Other witnesses ran and hid in the broom closet when the shooting started.

Abney, who is described as a vagrant in the arrest report, told detectives he was just trying to stay warm in the station. He had wanted to buy a ticket on a bus to California that left in the morning.

Abney told detectives he was going to make an example of the security guard for trying to make him leave. He said he pulled out the gun to scare him, fired one shot in the air and smoked a cigarette before further pursuing the guard and firing several more shots.

He put the gun in his own mouth and pulled the trigger twice before police arrived, but he was out of bullets, according to the arrest report.

Abney faces charges of attempted murder, attempted battery with a deadly weapon and discharging a firearm at or into an occupied structure. Police also said that Abney is an ex-felon, with robbery charges in Texas in 1977 and 1968, as well as a burglary involving murder in 1969.

Anyone with information about the incident can contact Las Vegas police’s violent crimes section at (702) 828-5634, To remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers of Nevada at (702) 385-5555 or online at www.crimestoppersofnv.com.

Contact reporter Wesley Juhl at wjuhl@reviewjournal.com and (702) 383-0381. Follow him on Twitter @WesJuhl.