Police say officers killed man who lunged with knife

Las Vegas police shot and killed a man who lunged at them with a knife early Sunday morning in a neighborhood near Maryland Parkway and Harmon Avenue, a police spokesman said.

Officers were summoned to the scene about 3 a.m. after a man clad in underwear and a T-shirt confronted a resident, said Jose Montoya, a department spokesman.

The resident, who was arriving home from work, told police that the man approached him as he was entering his house and asked for "Denise." After the resident went inside his home, the man continued to stand outside his door and ask for Denise.

The resident told the man that he did not know a Denise and that he was going to call police, Montoya said.

"He was just rambling," said resident Jennifer Weber, who was watching television when the incident began.

"He was probably mentally ill."

Weber said the man then wandered into the street.

When officers arrived, they approached the man. Police said the man lunged at the two officers with a knife.

Both officers opened fire, hitting the man, police said.

The man was taken to Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.

Weber said that the slain man lay in the street "just like a rag doll. It was horrible."

His name was unavailable Sunday.

Weber, who has lived in the neighborhood for several years, and another resident, who asked not to be identified, said they did not recognize the shooting victim as a resident of the neighborhood.

Police are withholding the names of the officers involved for 48 hours, in accordance with department policy.

Contact reporter Scott Spjut at sspjut @reviewjournal.com or (702) 383-0279.