Police Shoot Down Armed Robber at Home of the World Series of Poker
Since 2005, the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas has played host to the annual World Series of Poker (WSOP), which traditionally takes place from the end of May through mid-July. The WSOP may not be happening now, but that didn’t stop its host venue from making headlines this past weekend after police shot and killed an armed robbery suspect inside the casino.
According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Metro detectives, who believed the suspect was responsible for a string of armed robberies, were following the unidentified man.
“On December 7, 2014, at approximately 5:05 a.m., detectives from the LVMPD Career Criminal Section were conducting surveillance on a suspect believed to be involved in multiple casino robberies,” the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said in a press release. “The suspect was believed to be armed with a firearm during the robberies and made mention of possibly having an explosive device.”
Outside the guest elevators, detectives confronted the man, who resisted. After a failed taser attempt, the suspect reached toward his waist area, which resulted in detectives opening fire. The man was killed and a handgun found on his person. The incident marked the 15th officer involved shooting of 2014.
The Metro’s Armor Section, as well as the Las Vegas Fire Department bomb squad, responded and “rendered the suspect and the crime scene safe.” The shooting did not disrupt hotel’s operations as authorities were able to detour guests to a different set of elevators.
Metro Capt. Matt McCarthy provided an initial briefing from the Rio shortly after the shooting, which you can watch below.
*Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
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