Police Shoot Down Armed Robber at Home of the World Series of Poker
Since 2005, the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas has played host to the annual World Series of Poker (WSOP), which traditionally takes place from the end of May through mid-July. The WSOP may not be happening now, but that didn��t stop its host venue from making headlines this past weekend after police shot and killed an armed robbery suspect inside the casino.
According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Metro detectives, who believed the suspect was responsible for a string of armed robberies, were following the unidentified man.
��On December 7, 2014, at approximately 5:05 a.m., detectives from the LVMPD Career Criminal Section were conducting surveillance on a suspect believed to be involved in multiple casino robberies,�� the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said in a press release. ��The suspect was believed to be armed with a firearm during the robberies and made mention of possibly having an explosive device.��
Outside the guest elevators, detectives confronted the man, who resisted. After a failed taser attempt, the suspect reached toward his waist area, which resulted in detectives opening fire. The man was killed and a handgun found on his person. The incident marked the 15th officer involved shooting of 2014.
The Metro��s Armor Section, as well as the Las Vegas Fire Department bomb squad, responded and ��rendered the suspect and the crime scene safe.�� The shooting did not disrupt hotel��s operations as authorities were able to detour guests to a different set of elevators.
Metro Capt. Matt McCarthy provided an initial briefing from the Rio shortly after the shooting, which you can watch below.
*Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
Get all the latest PokerNews updates on your social media outlets. Follow us on Twitter and find us on both Facebook and Google+!
