Police arrest 17 during Las Vegas New Year’s festivities
Sin City’s New Year’s Eve revelry was one of the most orderly in recent years, Las Vegas police said.
Only 17 revelers were arrested as of 2:30 a.m. Wednesday, police spokesman Bill Cassell said. The arrests included seven within the Strip corridor and six around the Fremont Street Experience, he said. The arrests were for misdemeanor offenses. Las Vegas police arrested an additional four people on charges of driving under the influence.
Meanwhile, the Nevada Highway Patrol arrested 37 people between 6 p.m. Tuesday and 6 a.m. Wednesday for driving under the influence, spokesman Jeremie Elliott said.
Troopers responded to 25 accidents during that same time period, all of which had minor or no injuries, Elliott added.
On Wednesday, a shooting occurred about 5:25 a.m. outside a bar on Jones Boulevard near Spring Mountain Road.
Sgt. John Sheahan said a man was shot outside XS Cafe Bar and was in critical condition at Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center. Two people were taken into custody.
Other law enforcement agencies had not reported their arrest totals as of Wednesday afternoon.
More than 335,000 visitors were believed to be in Las Vegas for one of the world’s largest New Year’s Eve gatherings, according to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.
During 2012’s New Year’s Eve celebration, a man was arrested for shooting a gun inside Circus Circus around 11:30 p.m. In a separate incident, a man was arrested for rape at the same hotel.
Last year the Metropolitan Police Department and the Nevada Highway Patrol together arrested nearly 60 people on DUI charges.
In Reno, police arrested 27 people Tuesday night on violations ranging from battery to urinating in public.
At Lake Tahoe, Douglas county sheriff’s deputies said 24 people were arrested.
The Nevada Highway Patrol said five people in the northern Nevada region were arrested for DUI. Troopers also responded to six traffic collisions, none involving life-threatening injuries.
Staff writers Colton Lochhead and Kimber Laux and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
Contact reporter Francis McCabe at fmccabe@review journal.com or 702-380-1039.
