Man dies in police shooting in northwest valley

A Las Vegas police detective shot a man wanted for having sex with a child Wednesday afternoon in a northwest valley neighborhood.

Detectives in the sexual assault unit were interviewing the man at his workplace in the area of Alexander Road and Rancho Drive, Capt. Randy Montandon said.

When the detectives announced he was going to be arrested, the man fled, at about 1 p.m. One of the detectives fired a Taser at the suspect, which didn't stop him.

Another detective pursued the suspect for a half-mile, to a desert lot in front of a vacant house on the corner of Alexander and Helen Avenue, Montandon said.

A physical altercation between the detective and the suspect took place and the officer shot him. The suspect, whose name was not released, was pronounced dead at the scene.

“He was a suspect in separate instances with multiple victims, one in a domestic violence-type situation and the other a sex-with-a-child-under-14 situation,” Montandon said.

The detectives were in plainclothes when they were interviewing the suspect, Montandon said. The suspect knew that they were police. Montandon would not identify the place where the suspect worked.

Whether the suspect was armed is still under investigation, he said.

The detectives were not injured.

“The officers are good considering they went in a protracted foot pursuit in 100-degree-plus weather against a violent suspect,” Montandon said.

The incident was the 10th officer-involved shooting the department has been involved with this year.

Contact reporter Lawrence Mower at lmower@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0440.