Five slain in weekend shootings

Monday, Sept. 8, 2003 | 11:03 a.m.

Five people were killed over the weekend in Las Vegas in four shootings within blocks of each other, and Metro Police said they had not arrested any suspects in the slayings as of this morning.

None of this weekend's shootings appears to be connected, although they all occurred in the same general area in southeast Las Vegas, Lt. Richard Collins of Metro Police said.

Two men were killed when a man who had left the Rock Club at Maryland Parkway near Tropicana Avenue returned with a shotgun about 2 a.m. Sunday, Metro Police Homicide Lt. Tom Monahan said.

After gunfire erupted in the club's parking lot, one wounded man stumbled back into the club, collapsed and died, Monahan said. A second man died on the sidewalk outside the club.

Both men were in their 20s, Monahan said. The coroner's office identified one of the victims as Shaka Elam, 28, from North Las Vegas. The identity of the other victim was not released this morning.

Based on witness descriptions, police were looking for a black man, medium height and medium build, with braided hair, Monahan said.

The club, normally open seven days a week, remained closed Sunday night.

Two shootings less than half an hour apart had left two other men dead late Saturday after another man had been killed in the same area early that same day.

About 11:30 p.m. Saturday a man had been found shot to death in an alley behind the 2500 block of Sherwood Street, near Karen Avenue and Maryland Parkway, police said.

The man, 34, was pronounced dead at the scene. The coroner's office wouldn't release his identity until contacting next of kin and hadn't completed the autopsy this morning.

About midnight, a resident of the Paradise Village Way apartments at Tropicana and Eastern avenues heard gunfire and called police.

Patrol officers found the body of a 20-year-old man on a sidewalk, police said. Paramedics pronounced the man dead from apparent gunshot wounds. The coroner's office wouldn't release his identity until contacting next of kin.

About nine hours prior to that discovery, 19-year-old Tho Cao was shot and killed near Maryland Parkway and Reno Avenue, authorities said.

Cao was shot about 2:50 a.m. Saturday, and several of his friends tried to resuscitate him, but when paramedics arrived they pronounced Cao dead.

Witnesses said Cao had been fighting with two teens, one of whom pulled a handgun and shot at the man as he ran east into an alley. Cao was struck at least once in the back, police said. The coroner's office said the incident could be gang-related, according to information they received from Metro.

Witnesses told police that the teens were short with short hair. The possible shooter was described as wearing a blue shirt with a Hawaiian print over a white sleeveless T-shirt. The other suspect was wearing a white shirt. Both were last seen running east on Reno.

The Clark County Coroner's office said that there had been 120 homicides throughout the county for the year through this morning. There were 130 homicides countywide in the same period of 2002, according to the coroner's office.

Metro Spokesman Jose Montoya said there have been 94 homicides in Metro's jurisdiction this year to date compared with 103 for the same period of last year.

Anyone with information on any of this weekend's homicides can call CrimeStoppers at 385-5555 or Metro's Homicide Section at 229-3521.