Police: Man fatally shot himself near ‘Welcome’ sign
Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2009 | 9:05 a.m.
A man found slumped in a car near the "Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas" sign at the south end of the Las Vegas Strip appeared to have shot himself, Metro Police said today.
A police officer on the way to work about 5:32 a.m. today found the man inside the car dead of an apparent gunshot wound, police said.
Police have ruled the shooting a suicide, but the Clark County Coroner's Office will determine the man's identity and official cause of death, police said.
Last month the sign was defaced with graffiti, which was removed by county crews.
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Why is this a story?
Sounds like a beginning to CSI...
I miss the old free aspirin sign at the fuel station.
Too bad for this guy, ailing, despondent, broke, or all three.
R.I.P.
at least he did it right
He probably lost everything in the casinos and blames Las Vegas for making that happen.
anyone seen steve wynn today?
He was probably trying to ease the pain of eating at the Sahara Buffet.
I will pray for his soul!
The casinos will take every last dime from the gambler, what is sad is if you try to play poker out of your house with some buddies, you will be raided by swat and given 6 months of jail. No more pursuit of happiness, unless you are a mayor or congressperson, or big time CEO for global elite.
fear and loathing in las vegas
casinos dont take money from the gambler, the gambler gives it to the casino. i live in vegas and no casino takes my money. my money stays wherever i put it.
bums dont take your money, bums accept what is handed to them by YOU.
im so sick of people saying the casino ripped them off. you gave your money to them you moron!!!!! if you give the casino 10K when you said you would only give them 1K, you are the moron if you keep gambling after the first 1000 bucks. i have no sympathy for anyone that loses their money in a casino....especially if you are a millionaire.
oh, and the drugs and drinking crap? look, no one forces you to drink it or sniff it but YOU. if you have a drinking problem or a drug problem YOU SUCK AT LIFE!!! STFU and accept your losses. A GOOD server sees you drinking vodka constantly and if she keeps bringing you vodka and YOU dont stop her/him....you are the problem, not the casino or the server.
Sure blame the casinos. This moron had no self respect. And apparently no self control. Everyone is responsible for himself, no more, no less...
"This city is cursed when it comes to ruining good people. Many morons still insist there is nothing wrong here, but everything this city stands for is evil".
Yet, your screen name is VegasVegas....
Will he be burried here? Because what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.
OK enough stupidity. This poor guy should have walked into ANY emergency room and told them he needed help. They would have helped.
getalife;
Unfortunately, in Las Vegas of all places, that may not be true. Should be, but emergency rooms in Vegas have turned into their own little hells. Another of Vegas's many, many issues. What a shame.
"This city is cursed when it comes to ruining good people."
You're kidding, right?
This city "ruins" nobody. It only permits the weak to ruin themselves.
Remember ... A plane leaves Vegas every 30 seconds. Be on one if you can't handle it.
How sad, RIP, mercy; there will always be a higher incidence of suicide when people suffer a personal economic down turn.
This is not a comment on the viability of LV, but, rather, a manifestation of the helplessness of the American people, who now find themselves, falling through the governmental safety-net, after losing any accumulated wealth or all their savings, due in large part, because of the state of the economy.
There may be more of this sort of occurrence on the horizon, as, some people, who may feel they are done fighting the good fight, against all odds and the grind, want to check-out, may come to LV for their last hurrah, get their last fling in, or push everything aside and go all in with their last fleeting hope, at winning the rat race.
This all brings to mind, the movie, Leaving Las Vegas.
Easy come easy go...every human makes their own choices in life...don't blame anyone but yourself if you screwed up.
At least he didn't blow his brains all over our most important land mark...not like those graffiti punks!
Did Watanabe lose on his stocks today while his personal assets fell below the one million dollar mark upon pending trial for the $14.7 million he owes Harrahs ?
Yanno Wayne has restarted that deadbeating habit by not paying his bills again....could be far worse than we ever knew.
Maybe Criss Angel couldnt take the emotional breakup with Hef's old main squeeze Holly.
If this appearent suicide is related to gambling, the laws of Nevada are very clear :
Every licensed gaming item or table will always let you take a shot at their money..... by all means you dont have to let any licensed gaming item or table take a shot at yours.
To minimize all your losses to little or none, you still have to have very good money management and strict disipline... you can never determine how much youre going to win, but you can always determine how much youre willing to lose - and so many people never follow that golden rule.
Viva Las Vegas, baby !
You know You play you pay....Take your beatings like a man....you know even if your homeless and broke in the USA you are living better than 50% of the worlds population..... we have gotten so spoiled and weak in this country...But Ive been Rich and poor and rich and poor many times in my life so....hey if I ever lost it all again no big deal... you cant take it with you when you go anyway....
Silver lining:
This guy shot himself without taking out people via a public shootout. Those people make me sick. If you want to die, then kill yourself. Don't kill your children, wife, friends, or perfect strangers before turning the gun on yourself. There is nothing more selfish or cowardly than that.
you could have a web cam, accessible worldwide focused on the sign 24/7. It could be sponsored by businesses such as Vegas.com.
We might have another golden gate bridge on our hands.
Does the Sun report suicides often?
It can cause copycats!
jspence,
You're so right, totally a CSI beginning! Or Bones even!
addendum to reagan's comment:
Aside from not killing others, please don't do it in your house. Not only is it not right for your loved ones to find you, but it totally ruins the resale value. Nobody wants to live in a house someone was shot to death in!
Your benefactors, or whoever owns your house will appreciate it.
It's sad to read all these rude,heartless and thoughtless comments about a man you DON'T even know.You have no idea of his background.What drove him to this point was so profound that he didn't see it in himself to reach out.Sometimes it doesn't show,sometimes it does. He was someones husband or brother,a uncle or a friend,he was someone.To feel so so hopeless has to be the worse last feeling in the world.I for one hope he has found what he was looking for and wish him well on his journey.
It's very sad that this man thought taking his own life would solve his problems. Sadly, his last act has now left a permanent image in the minds of those who viewed the aftermath. May his soul rest in peace. May those who saw the results, find peace in their hearts & minds.
ITA, Babyboomer and Seattlemom. I can't imagine the pain he must've been going through that the only way out of it was death. A few people that I've known have taken their own lives, and while it's easy to be angry at them for such a selfish act, I try to think about how much torment they must've been suffering and pray for their souls. My heart goes out to this man's family and friends.
It gives a new meaning to leaving las vegas.
Another toothpick!
IF YOU CANT SAY ANYTHING GOOD KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT.
acesbet,
Let's be honest, I don't really think it's appropriate to say something good about the fact that a guy killed himself, do you?