A Las Vegas police officer shot and killed a man who was in custody at Las Vegas-based University Medical Center early Monday morning after the man pointed a Taser that was left in the room at the officer, according to The New York Times.
The man in custody at the hospital was arrested Sunday night in the west side of Las Vegas on a felony warrant after he allegedly threatened suicide and said he had a gun and was "going to blast it out" with police when they arrived on the scene. He was transported to the hospital because he was intoxicated and could not pass the booking process at the Clark County Detention Center. An officer accompanied the man to the hospital.
The man obtained the Taser from a bag left in the room by a corrections officer. The suspect took the Taser from the bag when the corrections officer and officer on duty briefly left the room.
At 4:15 a.m. local time, a hospital security guard and a nurse entered the room and the suspect pointed the Taser gun at the guard. The security guard left to get help and found the police officer in charge. When the man pointed the Taser at the police officer as he reentered the room to help, the officer fired one round, hitting and killing the man, according to the report.
The suspect's identity, the warrant that led to his arrest and the officer's identity have not been released.
UMC told KVVU, "This morning's incident happened in a contained and locked down unit of our emergency department. Thankfully, no one else was injured and our ED team immediately went back to the bedside to care for our other emergent patients. UMC's professionalism, training and commitment to care was very evident especially during this unfortunate circumstance."
A hospital spokesperson declined to confirm whether the shooting victim was admitted as a patient in the hospital at the time of the incident.