Robbery suspect shot, killed
A trio of men who attempted to rob a jewelry store at gunpoint had the tables turned on them when store employees fought back and shot and killed one of the suspects Tuesday morning.
"Guys tried to rob us. They made a mistake," said Zane Houston, one of the employees of the Gold Doctor jewelry store on Mojave Road near Charleston Boulevard.
Houston, who had welts and bruises on his face and head more than six hours after the robbery attempt, said he wasn't the person who shot the robber in front of the store.
"I'm just a guy fighting for his life," he said, adding, as he swept up glass from a shattered door, that the store had been robbed in the past.
Jewelry repair equipment broken during the struggle was scattered on the floor inside.
Police said three men entered the store about 11:30 a.m. and demanded jewelry. One of the men was armed with a handgun, and another had a pellet gun, police said.
No customers were inside the store at the time of the robbery attempt, but two employees and the store owner were.
A fight broke out between Houston and the would-be robbers. The struggle spilled out of the store, where a store employee took the handgun away from one of the suspects, said Lt. Lew Roberts of the Las Vegas police's homicide unit.
The store employee then fired at the suspect, hitting him in the abdomen, he said.
"In some cases, victims fight back and fight for their lives," Roberts said.
Eric Fleck, an employee of a neighboring auto repair store, said he rushed over to the jewelry store after he heard gunshots and found a man on his back in front of the store. Fleck said he didn't see any blood, but the man on the ground "was the one who was hurting" at the scene.
The wounded man was taken to a local hospital where he later died, authorities said.
Police arrived and arrested two men as well as a woman, who was believed to be the intended getaway driver, Roberts said.
Authorities locked down at least one nearby school as they searched for a fifth suspect, a man, who had run away. The suspect remained at large Tuesday evening.
The Clark County District Attorney's office will determine if the store employee who shot and killed the suspect will face criminal charges, but Roberts said it's unlikely that the employee will be charged in connection with the shooting.
"Obviously you shouldn't go in and try to commit a robbery," he said.
