Shootout wounds three in North Las Vegas

Trent Carpenter spent most of Thursday morning pouring bleach and scrubbing blood outside his mother's North Las Vegas home.

The backyard in particular proved a formidable challenge: Pints of blood were soaked into the concrete, and a single red handprint remained on the sliding glass door.

"It was crazy," said Carpenter, 39. "My cousin was housesitting for my mom, and she gets woken up to someone bleeding, banging on the back door asking for help."

During a late-night party at a rental house on Black Eyed Susan Court, rival gangs engaged in a shootout that spanned several streets and left between 40 and 50 bullet casings strewn about the normally quiet, gated community near Ann Road and Decatur Boulevard.

North Las Vegas Police Sgt. Tim Bedwell said three men were wounded during the firefight, a 20-year-old and two 18-year-olds. The 20-year-old victim was shot in the torso and was taken by paramedics to University Medical Center in critical condition. An 18-year-old victim was shot several times in the leg and was driven by someone at the party to UMC, where he was in serious condition. The third youth was driven to North Vista Hospital with minor injuries.

Bedwell said a military-style semiautomatic rifle, such as an AK-47 or an SKS, was used in the shooting. A handgun also was used.

Many residents heard the gunfire at about 2 a.m. and witnessed at least 30 to 50 teenagers and young adults running from the rental house, neighbors said.

Troy Martin, 34, said people were leaping into cars and high-tailing it from the neighborhood after the barrage of gunfire.

"They were going so fast, I thought they were going to knock down the gate," Martin said.

Carpenter said the 20-year-old victim escaped further injury by jumping over a brick wall into his mother's backyard. He pleaded to be let in, but Carpenter's cousin would not open the door.

Paramedics carried the man away on a stretcher, he said.

"There was blood all over (the backyard), but he didn't get any in the house," Carpenter said.

The party was not your typical teenage party, Bedwell said. The attendees were "predominantly gang members" or people affiliated with gangs.

He said he doesn't think the gangs, which were not identified, are involved in a "war."

"This is not what you'd be seeing" in a war, Bedwell said. "This was a couple gangs that happened to cross paths and shoot each other."

But the shooting, combined with several other gang-related incidents in the past year, have police officers concerned.

"The problem's been growing for the last several years," he said. "Multiple homicides in a year attributed to gangs is a significant problem for us and certainly one residents of North Las Vegas want us to do anything to stop."

The incidents included the slaying of 16-year-old Donald Troutman in May.

Troutman was shot in the 5100 block of Cross Ranch Street, near Fifth Street and Washburn Road. His relatives said he was killed by a member of the HTO gang.

And in November, members of the Wood gang were charged with the slaying of off-duty Las Vegas police officer Trevor Nettleton, who was shot in his garage as he arrived home from work.

Bedwell said Las Vegas Valley street gang behavior has evolved in recent years.

Instead of an emphasis on protecting turf on a street or in a neighborhood, gangs today operate across the valley and often work together as "hybrids," he said.

"Hybrid gangs go wherever they want to go and have members all over," he said. "They don't represent turf or colors like they used to, and that's a challenge for us. We have to relearn how to handle some of this."

Gathering intelligence is often the best way to combat gangs, Bedwell said, making community involvement critical in solving crimes. Gang members seldom cooperate with police, he said.

"We need to know who was there, even if it's just monikers," he said. "And if you see something suspicious, call us immediately. If we get a call about 50 people in a house, streets blocked with vehicles, we would go and break that up immediately."

Black Eyed Susan resident Giovanni Pellegrino, 61, said it's tough for people to distinguish between a party and possible gang activity. But any late-night activity should be a warning, he said.

"As neighbors, that's what to watch for," he said. "It should ring a bell."

Despite the shooting, Pellegrino said the neighborhood has always been quiet, friendly and safe. Neighbors watch each other's houses and know each other's names.

"I think this was an isolated incident, one of those rare occurrences," he said. "But hey, it's Las Vegas."

Contact reporter Mike Blasky at mblasky@review
journal.com or 702-383-0283.