Security shoots motorist at club

Monday, Aug. 5, 2002 | 9:44 a.m.

Metro Police are investigating the shooting death early Sunday morning of a motorist who allegedly tried to run down a security guard contracted by the nightclub Glo at the Hop on Tropicana Avenue.

Rocky T. Security guards apparently exchanged words with the driver and a passenger in a car in the club's parking lot about 3 a.m., Metro Homicide Lt. Tom Monahan said.

As the vehicle started to leave the parking lot, security officers confronted the occupants and ordered them out of the car, according to witnesses.

Instead, the occupants rolled up their windows and started to drive away, striking one of the guards. The officer, from the hood of the car, fired his pistol at the driver before dropping into the street, Monahan said.

A second guard fired his gun at the rear of the car as it traveled westbound on Tropicana. The third security officer did not fire.

The car stopped several hundred feet west of the nightclub. The driver was taken to University Medical Center where he was pronounced dead.

Homicide detectives would like to talk to anyone who may have witnessed this event. Anyone with information can call Secret Witness, 385-5555, or the Homicide Section, 229-3521.

No arrests were made at the scene of the shooting. The district attorney's office will be consulted once Metro Police completes an investigation to determine if any criminal charges are warranted.

The identity of the driver will be released by the coroner's office after the family is notified. The names of the security officers involved will be released if it is determined that this is a criminal matter, Monahan said.