On August 11th, witnesses watched as a security guard was fired from the Ross store on Blue Diamond and Valley View. Shortly after that, the man returned with a gun and started shooting. The shooting was later classified as a domestic dispute that could have been handled with the help of a skilled Las Vegas family law attorney.
Reports of an Active Shooter
Reports of the incident — muddled and confused as they were — began popping up on social media around 5 p.m. PST on the 11th. Tweets suggested there was an active shooter inside the Target shopping center, while other posts mentioned the shooter was in the Ross store.
Law enforcement responded immediately and placed street closures around the shopping center to protect the public from potential harm.
Eyewitness Accounts of the Crime
From inside Ross, Target, and Kohl’s, several people were on lockdown and began posting to social media about their experiences. One woman stated that she’d witnessed a mother frighteningly hide her child behind merchandise inside Target. Another poster said that people were running to the back of the store and hiding in the break room.
Some people were able to leave the shopping center and were told by law enforcement to evacuate the area.
Metro Confirms Details
Less than an hour after the chaos and fear erupted, Las Vegas Metro reported, “This was a domestic dispute at the Ross at Valley View & Blue Diamond. A domestic dispute between a family, a man tried to shoot at a woman, that’s when officers shot him. No word on his condition.”
This report seems to contradict the witnesses who claim the security guard was firing at his former manager unless of course, that manager was a relative.
Striking Terror in the Community
This shooting was particularly frightening not only in the wake of the events of last October but also because this was the week before many Las Vegas Valley children returned to school, so many families were at both Ross and Target shopping for school supplies.
One father who was shopping in Ross with his 9-year-old son at the time of the incident told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that he saw a man verbally arguing with a woman who worked in the store. He then heard the man say to the woman, “I’m going to come back and get you.” Moments later, the man returned to the store with a gun and opened fire on the woman. The woman was not injured.
The father grabbed his child and fled to the back exit, however, after believing the shooter was firing in their direction, he changed course and then ran toward the front doorway. The father stated that the gunman was firing out the front door after he exited with his son.
Officer Related Shootings on the Rise
This is the fifth officer-involved shooting since August fourth. During a news conference discussing the shooting, Clark County Assistant Sheriff, Tim Kelly, made the following statement: “In my 28-plus years here, I don’t recall us having this many in such a short period of time. It’s unfortunate, but when you have individuals out there that are trying to cause harm, as a police agency, it’s our job to take action to mitigate that threat.”