Drive-by shooting injures man in doorway

Heather Rawlyk

Wednesday, Oct. 13, 2004 | 1:51 a.m.

A man is in critical condition after he was shot in the head during a drive-by shooting at an apartment complex Tuesday night, authorities said.

The man was standing in the open doorway of the apartment in the 1200 block of Blankenship Avenue, near Martin Luther King Boulevard and Carey Avenue, when a car drove by and someone fired several shots into the building, according to Metro Police Lt. Lew Roberts.

The man was struck once in the head and the car sped off, Roberts said.

A North Las Vegas Police officer, who was nearby when the shooting occurred, went to the apartment and found the man in the doorway. The man was taken to University Medical Center's Trauma Center and was in critical condition Tuesday night.

While police were investigating the shooting, a second man stumbled into UMC with several gunshot wounds in his chest, Roberts said.

The man told police he had been shot in North Las Vegas on Commerce Street, but he may have actually been involved in the same drive-by shooting, Roberts said.

Several witnesses told police they saw a second man run out of the apartment after the shooting, he said.

Roberts said it is likely the man lied to police because he did not want to be connected to the drive-by shooting.

Police said they believe the shooting was gang-related and possibly drug-related. A marijuana plant was found inside the apartment, police said.

Roberts, who works in the Metro gang crimes section, said police had no reason to believe the shooting was at all connected to Sunday night's gunfight that left three people dead in a parking lot on Rancho Drive at Washington Avenue.