HENDERSON, Nev. (Las Vegas Sun) -- Henderson Police shot a suspect Wednesday afternoon inside an Albertsons grocery store in what they initially believed could be a child-hostage situation.
About 3:30 p.m., Henderson Police received reports of a man armed with a gun walking into the restroom at the Albertsons at 190 N. Boulder Highway, near Lake Mead Boulevard, said Henderson Police spokesman Keith Paul.
Upon arrival, Paul said, police evacuated the store and approached the restroom to try without success to talk to the man. Within 15 minutes, Henderson SWAT officers arrived and also tried to talk to the man. A short while later, the man came out of the restroom with his weapon "up", Paul said, prompting officers to fire.
The man was transported to Sunrise Hospital, but the extent of his injuries were not known,
Paul said police initially believed the man had a child hostage with him, but upon entering the restroom after the shooting, no child was found. Paul did not elaborate where police received the hostage information.
Outside the Albertsons in the shooting's aftermath, at least 11 police units and scores of onlookers stood by. Albertsons employees could be seen in an area just outside the store, but police would not allow reporters access to them.
Anthony Alers, a manager at the AT&T store across the parking lot from the Albertsons, said a woman came into his store about 3:40 p.m. She told Alers there was a man in the grocery store with a gun. Alers said he called 911 to report the incident, and dispatchers told him police already had been notified and were on their way.
Alers said the woman, who was not identified, told him she was shopping in Albertsons when a P.A. announcement advised all of the shoppers to come to the front of the store and leave.
At 7 p.m., the store remained closed while police continued to process the scene. Paul said he did not know when the store would be ready to reopen.
The three officers involved in the shooting have been placed on paid administrative leave while the investigation into the shooting continues, Paul said.
-- William D'Urso | Las Vegas Sun
