{"id":112721,"date":"2019-08-20T11:38:37","date_gmt":"2019-08-20T18:38:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=112721"},"modified":"2019-08-20T12:26:48","modified_gmt":"2019-08-20T19:26:48","slug":"officials-review-fatal-shooting-laughlin-nevada-armed-robbery-suspect-outside-aquarius-casino","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/officials-review-fatal-shooting-laughlin-nevada-armed-robbery-suspect-outside-aquarius-casino\/","title":{"rendered":"Officials Review Fatal Shooting In Laughlin, Nevada Of Armed Robbery Suspect Outside Aquarius Casino"},"content":{"rendered":"

Authorities are examining how police handled a man who allegedly attempted early Monday to hold up the Golden Nugget and later the Aquarius casinos in Laughlin, Nevada. Following a stand-off, he was shot dead by police after he pointed a gun at them outside the Aquarius, according to police accounts.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Las Vegas Metropolitan Police continue to investigate the circumstances of a police-involved shooting at the Aquarius casino in Laughlin following a stand-off with an attempted robber who was shot dead after pointing a gun at officers. (Image: Las Vegas Review-Journal)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The blasts of gunfire took place several hours after the suspect had fired at — but missed hitting — a security officer at the Aquarius.<\/p>\n

Following protocol, the officers who fired their guns will be placed on paid leave until the police department and local district attorney review the circumstances surrounding the shooting, according to the Las Vegas Sun<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The incident began at about 1 a.m. when the suspect entered the Golden Nugget Laughlin Hotel & Casino, walked up to the casino cage, and placed his gun on the counter outside of the enclosure. He demanded money from the cashier, according to Las Vegas police Capt. Nichole Splinter.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The employee refused to give him any. The suspect then left.<\/p>\n

About a half hour later, the suspect walked into the Aquarius Casino Resort — less than a mile from the Golden Nugget. He went up to the cashier\u2019s window.<\/p>\n

\u201cAgain, putting a firearm on the counter. Again, demanded money,\u201d Splinter said in a video distributed by Las Vegas police.<\/p>\n

But this time, a casino security officer happened to be nearby. \u201cThe subject got nervous — started walking away,\u201d Splinter said.<\/p>\n

The cashier told the security officer about the attempted robbery. The security officer then notified his colleagues at the casino.<\/p>\n

Several security officers followed the suspect as he walked out of the casino into the parking lot.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe subject confronted one of the security officers, pointed his firearm at him, and fired a round,\u201d Splinter said. \u201cThe round did not injure the security officer.\u201d<\/p>\n

Las Vegas police were notified about the attempted robbery and shooting. Officers arrived at the casino parking lot as the suspect entered a parked car.<\/p>\n

Negotiations Attempted<\/h2>\n

Police ordered him to leave the vehicle. He refused. Then police began to negotiate with the suspect to encourage him to \u201cpeacefully\u201d surrender. The negotiations went on for about six hours.<\/p>\n

At about 7 a.m., the suspect suddenly left his car. He was still armed. He pointed the firearm at officers.<\/p>\n

In response, multiple officers shot the suspect with multiple rounds of ammunition. He was pronounced dead at the parking lot.<\/p>\n

The Clark County Coroner\u2019s Office told Casino.org<\/em> on Tuesday the initial report on the case was still \u201cpending.\u201d As of Tuesday morning, they had not announced the suspect\u2019s identity or an official cause of death.<\/p>\n

More details on the incident are likely to be released later this week.<\/p>\n

Criminal Justice Expert Praises Casino Security, Nevada Cops<\/h2>\n

When reached for comment, John Baeza, a retired New York City police officer and detective who is now a criminal justice consultant for NYPDTruth.com in Florida, told Casino.org<\/em> that the suspect may have wanted to be killed by police all along.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe alleged robber put his gun down on the counter of the first casino and demanded money. Thankfully, the cashier did not give him any,\u201d Baeza said. \u201cHe did the same thing at the second casino where security was notified.<\/p>\n

In the end, the subject seemed to want to commit suicide-by-police rather than rob a casino,\u201d said Baeza, who formerly worked at the Manhattan Special Victims Squad, made famous by the TV drama: \u201cLaw & Order: Special Victims Unit.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cIt may have been his motive.\u00a0 Remember, laying down a gun on a counter is not something a professional robber would do,\u201d Baeza explained. \u201cRobbing a casino in this manner was rather ill thought-out as well. It is not the sign of a professional robber.\u201d<\/p>\n

Based on initial reports, Baeza said casino security personnel \u201cperformed their jobs with bravery and competence.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe police did just as they are trained to do and negotiated with the suspect for some time before he decided to initiate an incident and come out from the car with his weapon aimed at the police,\u201d he added. \u201cThe police should be commended for their actions during this incident.\u201d<\/p>\n

Based on what he knew about the incident as of Tuesday morning, it \u201ccould be used to train officers in the dangers of a suicide-by-cop scenario.\u00a0 It could actually be used as a good example as to what to do for security guards and police officers,\u201d Baeza said.<\/p>\n

Baeza also confirmed that casinos are like banks because they are \u201cwhere the money is.”<\/p>\n

But there are cameras everywhere as well as security personnel,\u201d Baeza cautioned any would-be bandits. \u201cAnd cops are only minutes away. My advice: Don’t rob a casino.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Sean Hammond, general manager of the Aquarius, said in a statement released to Casino.org<\/em>, \u201cWe are thankful to Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, S.W.A.T., and our security team for their quick action to protect our employees and guests. We can confirm that no guests or employees were harmed during this incident.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Aquarius — owned by Golden Entertainment<\/a> — has over 1,900 rooms. The Golden Nugget — owned by Landry’s — has approximately 300 rooms.<\/p>\n

The Aquarius parking lot was closed to patrons during and after the incident on Monday, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Laughlin, which is Nevada\u2019s third-biggest gaming market<\/a>, is in Clark County.\u00a0 It is located some 100 miles from Las Vegas. Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department is the agency responsible for Laughlin under a regional arrangement.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Authorities are examining how police handled a man who allegedly attempted early Monday to hold up the Golden Nugget and later the Aquarius casinos in Laughlin, Nevada. Following a stand-off, he was shot dead by police after he pointed a gun at them outside the Aquarius, according to police accounts. The blasts of gunfire took […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":112725,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nOfficials Review Fatal Shooting In Laughlin, Nevada Of Armed Robbery Suspect Outside Aquarius Casino<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Authorities are examining a fatal shooting in Laughlin, Nevada at the Aquarius casino.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/officials-review-fatal-shooting-laughlin-nevada-armed-robbery-suspect-outside-aquarius-casino\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Officials Review Fatal Shooting In Laughlin, 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