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StumbleHenderson Police: 6 officers fired shots, killing armed woman
Published Tuesday, June 8, 2010 | 12:21 a.m.
Updated Tuesday, June 8, 2010 | 11:55 a.m.
Fatal shooting
Henderson Police say six officers fatally shot a woman Monday night in an upscale neighborhood after two suspects sped toward officers in a car stolen at gunpoint.
Authorities responded at about 8 p.m. to the MacDonald Highlands community at the south end of Stephanie Street. Police spokesman Keith Paul said the suspects, a man and a woman, stole a car within MacDonald Highlands and had pointed a handgun at residents in the neighborhood.
Officers caught up with the stolen vehicle at about 8:10 p.m. after it got stuck on a gravel road at the end of MacDonald Ranch Drive. Police ordered the suspects to exit the car, but they refused, Paul said.
Authorities then negotiated with the man and woman for about 45 minutes, urging them to surrender and leave the car.
"They were told not to put the car into gear," Paul said. "At some point the suspect put the car into gear, into reverse, and drove straight at the officers, leaving the officers with no other option but to fire their weapons."
Paul said six officers fired shots, fatally wounding the woman, who police said appeared to be in her 30s. The male passenger was hospitalized with injuries that weren't considered life-threatening, police said.
The man will face charges of armed robbery, burglary and auto theft, with other charges possible, police said.
The suspects are accused of committing a series of crimes in the neighborhood Monday night.
"The initial investigation has determined the pair went on a crime spree in the community including abandoning another stolen car, breaking into a home, confronting community security and carjacking leading to police searching for them," police said in a statement Tuesday.
The Clark County Coroner’s Office will release the name of the driver when she has been positively identified and her family has been notified. Authorities were still working to positively identify the male passenger.
The names of the officers involved in the shooting will be released 48 hours after the shooting, which is standard department policy. The officers were placed on paid administrative leave during the investigation.
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Tedbel,
Great reading comprehension on your part. It wasn't Metro.
Comment removed by moderator. Flaming.
tedbel, Hey Einstein, pay attention to what you are reading. As LV_N8tive said, it wasnt Metro, it was Henderson PD.
Good going Metro! Take 'em all out and return us our city!!
tedbel, three words
HOOKED ON PHONICS
Lived in Hendertucky for a few years and you just do what the cops there ask you to do, pretty simple rule. Don't try to run over cop-you don't get shot.
Who want's to bet there was no civilian witnesses...HPD the cowboy antics continue!!! Ice cream anybody?
just giving darwin a helping hand.
I have delivered construction equipment to a few homes in that neghborhood, it is gated, with armed guards at the gate, good going Wackenhut security, nice to know they have quality employees!
And good for HPD, one less brick on the shoulders of taxpayers
LOLZ TelBel!! "Radical" police abuse? What does that even mean?
Vegas is full of dangerous and hardened criminal, and you blame the police??
Please, they did us all a favor.
Good work Henderson P.D. - and I am glad no office was injured.
This should serve as a lesson for all thugs - do your dirt in your hood and stay out of the nice ones!
Bet the perps are illegals and bet the guns in their possession are illegal, too.
Hit the other crook with a felony murder rap.
Another case of HPD killing a suspect versus making an arrest. Ice cream memories? There are many ways to handle a situation - its no coincidence that HPD's way of handling situations results in death - repeatedly. All of those who attacked Tedbel: Usually a sign of ignorance and goes hand in hand with supporting heavy-handed policing. Your mockery and anger towards his opinion is also un-American and embarrassing. So, go ahead and now attack me - for every attack written is a screaming example of the sad state of the Las Vegas community's mentality.
Sign of ignorance? You do what a "fact pattern" is, right endoftimz? Unless you have new facts that alter or amend what was introduced as evidence, you need to get over your ideological blinders: Your hatred of the police for keep us safe in these difficult times is laughable.
PERFECT - there is one ignorant volunteer: OG. Thank you. That didn't take long at all. LOL
@endoftimz
Seriously? You do realize that in the court of law a vehicle is considered a deadly weapon.
I'd like to see you try and arrest someone who #1 won't get out of the vehicle and #2 isn't following instructions.
I'm glad you are not a cop, you would do nothing to protect me and my family.
The cops should have let the bad guys hit them. Then their mangled bodies could have gummed up the wheel well which would have ultimately slowed the get-away vehicle down to the point where a chase would have been avoided. Real heroes would have devised a complicated and gory plan like that to stop the bad guys and avoid any possible suspect injury. Henderson PD is at it again!!
i thought a gated community kept the bad people out? a refund of hoa fees is in order
Real quick - endoftimz, at least write down what could have been done as an alternative to shooting the suspects.
endoftimz...You may not be completely on target...But your on the right track.There is 3 sides to every story and for some reason cops in Henderson seem to find more fatal shootings than Metro...and always only one side of the story with no civilian witness to collaborate there side,Where was the private guards???Any residents see anything??
Good work HPD!
Nice job, HPD. Sometimes the herd needs thinning.
why are you people picking on henderson cops? i wish i lived in henderson to be honest the cops there have much less attitude over metro cops. they are more professional than metro cops. i recently got pulled over by a hendo cop and i even shook his hand and thanked him for being professional and not having a blowhard attitude like metro. he chuckled and said no comment. even they know metro cops are blowhards. i would move out of my area just to not be in metros jurisdiction. so stop picking on these cops for shooting some lowlife sack of garbage. seriously, what are the chances of major criminal activity in that part of town? so stop picking on these cops for removing these lowlife scumbuckets from our streets no matter what department. its when the cops fire random shots at someones back at unarmed persons because they are being disobeyed by them that i have an issue with. but when some moron drives their vehicle at them they have every right to shoot....because a knife or a damn taser is not an option, and running out of the way does not always remove you from the chance of bodily harm.
who cares if residents didnt see anything, im sure they are happy that person is going to jail and/or dead. he wont be doing criminal acts in their backyards anymore.
liberals, pfft
Can you not read... they pointed a gun at a home owner, I say great job HPD. What you don't know is that the Sun is not telling the truth again, they were already in a home in MacDonald Highlands pointed a gun at the guard and hijacked his truck and then hijacked a homeowners car at gun point, there is much more to this story. Am glad I live in Henderson great job HPD
Comment removed by moderator. All caps.
I agree with X-Doc, it's too bad they did not kill both of them.
Well done Henderson Police, you just saved us taxpayers a few more million dollars by not giving these career liberal freeloaders another free ride in life. We appreciate the great service and keep it up, we're rooting for your everyday and our prayers are with all of you. The more of these people taken out before the liberal bias court system pampers them the better off America will become. , We're off in the right direction to balance the budget, keep it up and in no time, poof, and budget deficit problem fixed.
endoftimz
Hey, smartass...the police were justified in shooting at these thugs, and thankfully getting one of them. The thugs used THE CAR - a 2 ton apparatus - and drove it in reverse towards the police. A car is considered a "deadly weapon" and the police were obviously threatened by a moving vehicle coming directly at them. The police did the right thing.
Also, if a private citizen feels threatened, they can use their car to protect themselves, ie someone threatening you with a gun or knife and you fear for your life and your only option is to use your car to protect yourself and your family. Yes, you HIT the Mother F'ers with your car!!!
To all the sissies out there crying about no witnesses:
I'm sure there are witnesses unless those that live in this particular gated community just stay locked behind closed doors and have no interest in what goes on around them.
But there are witnesses.
<i thought a gated community kept the bad people out? a refund of hoa fees is in order>
LOLOLOL It's more likely the HOA dues will go UP; the Board will cite the serious crime wave in the community!
Thank You HPD, your stands in the face of danger keep our families safe!! I'm glad you all went home at shifts end, and two criminals did not!!!!!
When an armed robber / carjacker is killed, that just makes the world safer for the rest of us. The only thing HPD could have done better would have been to put a few more rounds in the male criminal and taken him off the street permanently. Of course there are no witnesses. When the shooting starts, any sane onlooker makes himself / herself scarce for their own safety. Thank you HPD for a job well done!
To all of those crying about the "loss" of this criminal, save your tears for the family of the little boy who drowned in a pool. They're more deserving of our sympathy than a thug carjacker is.
< The suspects are accused of committing a series of crimes in the neighborhood Monday night >
GOes to show you that NO neighborhood is safe in Las Vegas, even the upscale, armed guard-gated communities.
My question: HOW did they gain entry in the first place? The police ought to question the guards on duty at the time.
Good job HPD - thank you for risking your lives to protect ours.
You will never not see the word Henderson Police and not have the term over kill not used in the same sentence.
Every time they pull someone over in one of their speed traps - they always have another 2 cars come to act busy.
Nice to see the HPD focus on stopping real crime instead of playing traffic revenue generators with all of their lame speed traps.
Curious how they cant seem to take out the tires on a stolen car with a gun shot to settle the issue? Is shooting to kill the only way to get the bad guy?
This was in a GUARD gated community. Makes you wonder how these individuals gained entry. I am happy with the outcome, but wonder if any guards will be losing their job for sitting around and letting everyone thru the gate! I hope so!
The comments have progressively gotten better (or more entertaining at least) than any story the Sun could print.
"Damn liberal punks and their liberal cars getting all liberal with the gas when the cops liberally used the words STOP POLICE!!! Blah Blah Blah, I hate big government, but I condone illegal detention and racial profiling and I think we should put people in power that will take away more liberties and Blah Blah Blah... damn liberals and illegals blah blah blah... too much sin in sin city BLAH BLAH BLAH where's my hypertension pills and prune juice?"
hendersons' Bonnie and Clyde. i just watched a history channel "the real Bonnie and Clyde story" or such. Too bad for us this clyde slipped thru, for now. WAY TO GO HPD!
Uh, the ice cream lady that some of you refer to had a knife to her kid's throat, then came at the officer with it. A pastor was a witness. Oh, and he's a civilian. Not a PD chaplain, just a plain ol' civilian pastor. And he wasn't far, far across the road like the other witnesses who said they didn't see a knife. He was right there. Did you watch the coroner's inquest? No? Then don't bring it up. As far as HPD shooting at these two winners, good for them! They should have killed both of them so we wouldn't have to pay for either one of them to have three hots and a cot, cable, health care, etc.
My Guess is TedBel is (was) friends with the accused and deceased.. Great Job HPD.
Yeah sheez, the ice cream incident is contestable for sure. After all the husband in that case got paid out around 700k from the city of henderson from what I remember.
Sure they didn't want to go to trial cause it would cost more.
In this incident however, there was a clear trail of the violence being caused by these two individuals. So I agree too, good for HPD. Justice was served, and one less wacko is on the streets.
Who is to say that they drove thru the front gates, maybe they hopped the wall looking for a house to break into and stole the car out of the garage, and then got caught by the guard who then had a gun in his face
In Las Vegas' recent history: Homeowner gets shot and killed in his home in Spanish Trails. Decent high school kid gets gunned down on the street in Summerlin. Two thugs invade and terrorize homeowners in MacDonald Ranch, defeating armed security.
The unfortunate truth is that no area of Las Vegas is safe for decent citizens any more.
kirkland, you're an idiot. Shot the tires is your solution? You've watched too many movies. shooting out the tires might have an effect in a high speed chase but wont really do much to stop an oncoming vehicle. Bummer they couldn't have taken out the male, I'm sure endofitz would have him back on the streets or rotting in jail at our expense.
i always love the liberal reaction to these stories. they tend to ignore or gloss over the criminal activity and focus on the cops.
this is why you HAVE to vote republican. democrats refuse to hold any thug accountable for their actions.
first, it's George Bush's fault....2nd, it is society's fault these two felt the need to borrow a car and drive eractically in the complex. I mean, if they didn't run out of their prescribed marijuana, which they need to cope with years of societal neglect, this wouldn't have happened. So as you can see, it is all HPD's fault....(yes this is complete sarcasm)
Just doing some homework here...police chase stopped at 8:10 p.m. after it (the stolen car) got stuck on a gravel road at the end of MacDonald Ranch Drive....then 45 minutes of negotiating (coffee and donuts)...8:55 p.m. driver is now able to put the car in drive, extricate the previously stuck car from gravel road, and aim it at the cops...ok, uh, let's see 6x6=36 bullets and none of them hit tires...ok, uh, it was justified...I think...maybe....
My bad, (33-Clip Glock 17)x6=198 bullets and maybe a few hit a tire....
Gated communities delay the entrance of police, fire and paramedics, but does nothing to keep bad guys out (think 'piggy-backing').
"...confronting community security..." which were probably unarmed, underpaid and under trained. Unarmed security is like a condom with a small hole in the tip - it may LOOK like protection, and may even work like protection most of the time - but there will come a time when it needs to perform the job at hand and fails with disastrous results.
Considering the events and actions perpetrated by the two, this is perhaps one of those rare occasions where shooting at an occupied vehicle, rather than just stepping out of the way, was the right course of action for Henderson PD.
Heck, even a blind squirrel finds an acorn now and then.
How can you argue the justification of this shooting? I take life VERY seriously. I pray I never have to be in the position to take another persons life. That said, If anyone rolls up to my house trying to burglarize it, the only thing HPD is going to have to spend 40 minutes doing is counting the shell casings in my driveway. Can any of you truly say that if someone was trying to run you over with a car AND you had a gun, you really wouldn't shoot?
I got to tell ya its the same old story every shooting is justified.I happen to be there when the ice scream truck women was shot dead on the spot.Every thing henderson said was a flat out lie.She never had a knife and threaten to kill her children or attack a police office.Cops come up with the best ways to twist and manipulate every possible fact.Do you think you every really get the truth HELLO they do this for a living.As a former cop for 30 year there is about 40%-50% truth to every shooting the rest is what we all came up with. Jail is for criminals not cops.
MY ADVICE STAY ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE LAW AND YOU HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Supersmart, in what country were you a cop for 30 years? Based on your post, I'm assuming it wasn't the United States therefore your international experiences are not really relevant to what's happening here.
What about the ICECREAM LADY ???? She was SHOT AND KILLED by METRO.. Then her Husband was AWARDED $750,000..THAT THE TAXPAYER HAD TO PAY...THANK YOU METRO...
bape702.. it was the Henderson Police that Shot and Killed the ice cream Lady...
For everyone who thinks that the Ice Cream lady did not have a knife you are WRONG!!!!! My husband who is on the Henderson Fire Dept was on that call and he had to step over the knife that she was trying to use.....
Supersmart-- So if you were a cop for thirty years as you say ,, then what you say is about 40-50% believable poohtalk,, according to what you posted.............hmmmmmm..........lol
Rookies are the ONLY PROBLEM.You never see older cops doing foolish things.The older you get the wiser you get!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I forgot to say getting pulled over in henderson or any were is very simple.roll down all the window turn off the car put your keys on the dash and place your hands in plan view on the steering wheel.I live in henderson and have a lead foot but cops have no clue who you are or if your packing as 33% of all nevadans are.Take the ticket and give it to an attorney.Just give them simple respect.The job is more of a pain in the ass than you think.As for seeing the henderson cop shoot the women with no knife I lied just pissed about TICKETS.Had another run in today they were so professional Thank god they were thinking because I sure ass hell was not