Metro officer shoots to death armed man

Wednesday, Oct. 24, 2001 | 9:52 a.m.

A Metro Police officer shot and killed a 37-year-old man who police officials say pointed a handgun at officers inside an northeast Las Vegas apartment Tuesday night.

Police said investigators found a note in the man's apartment indicating he intended to die. Officials said that it appears the man wanted to commit suicide by having an officer shoot him.

About 7:20 p.m. police dispatchers received a call from a woman saying that there was a man with a gun in an apartment in the 6900 block of Dunsbach Way, near Lake Mead and Hollywood boulevards.

Officers found a man holding a gun in the living room of an apartment with the door open. Officers tried to persuade the man to drop the gun, but he instead pointed the gun in the officers' direction, Deputy Chief Ray Flynn said.

One of the officers fired a single shot that struck the man in the chest, Flynn said.

The man was taken to University Medical Center, where he died shortly after arriving, police said.

While the officers were talking to the man, he told the officers that he wanted to be shot, Flynn said.

The officer who shot the man has been placed on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of a coroner's inquest into the shooting. The officer's name will not be released until 48 hours after the shooting, per department policy.

The man's name was not released this morning by the Clark County coroner's office pending positive identification and notification of his family.