Officers involved in fatal shooting identified

The two Las Vegas police officers involved in Wednesday's fatal shooting were Nichole Splinter and Timothy Nicothodes, the Las Vegas police said Friday.

Splinter, 36, has been with the department six years. Nicothodes, 42, has worked seven years with the department.

The patrol officers shot and killed Joseph M. Justin, 28, during a foot chase Wednesday morning near Boulder Highway and Twain Avenue. They had responded to the 3800 block of Florrie Avenue about 10:30 a.m. for a report of a house burglary, police said.

They arrived and started chasing Justin as he sped away in a minivan, which crashed into a tree about two blocks away.

Justin grabbed a .357 Magnum pistol from the van and put it to his head before he started running, police said.

As he ran he turned and pointed the gun toward Splinter, who fired one shot in response. Nicothodes also fired one shot.

After being shot, Justin was taken to Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center and died.

He had a long history of burglary arrests starting in the late 1990s. He had several convictions and served some prison time.