Three gunned down in LV parking lot

Monday, Oct. 11, 2004 | 11:07 a.m.

Three men were killed and at least three others were injured after gunfire erupted at a parking lot near Rancho Drive and Bonanza Road, and police this morning were searching for suspects.

Metro Police detectives are investigating whether the violence was gang-related.

The shooting occurred about 8:50 p.m. Sunday after a low-rider car show at Cashman Center. Officers discovered two men dead and another man in grave condition with a bullet wound in the head, Metro Homicide Lt. Tom Monahan said.

The third man died about 11:30 p.m. after he was taken into surgery at University Medical Center, Sgt. Chris Jones said.

Two other men were also taken to the hospital, but their conditions were not known this morning.

The sixth victim drove himself the hospital after running across Rancho to a Burger King. He was treated for a bullet wound in the knee and released, Jones said.

The crowd in the parking lot had gathered after a Lowrider Magazine Super Show, held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Cashman Center. Witnesses said 30 to 50 shots rang out, creating a chaotic scene.

"We ran for our lives," said one man who refused to give his name. He said people ducked behind and under parked cars as the shooting began.

Jason Dixon said he saw one man dead with a gun in his hand.

"We came to have a good time, but," Dixon said, his voice trailing off as he looked nervously over his shoulder at the parking lot.

Around the lot on the west side of Rancho Drive is a Starbucks Coffee drive-through, a Wells Fargo Bank under construction and a grocery outlet.

"There was too much gunfire, too much running," Roderick Henry said, vowing not to return to next year's low-rider show.

One woman, who refused to give her name, said that one of the dead men was a 26-year-old graduate of Cheyenne High School.

"I grew up with him, I went to school with him," she said, biting the end of her thumb.

The names of the victims were not released this morning.

Police placed orange cones where they found at least 70 shell casings from the gunfight. It appeared several types of guns were used, police said.

The section of Rancho near the shooting was closed into the early morning as about 70 officers, detectives and crime scene analysts investigated the shooting. Investigators photographed each car that had been hit by bullets, recorded each spot where victims were identified and interviewed witnesses.

The street reopened about 6 a.m.

Police weren't sure what sparked the violence, but gang affiliation is likely to have been a contributing factor, Monahan said. It's not clear if the shooting was in retaliation for any prior gang shootings.