Rolling gun battle on Las Vegas Strip leaves 3 dead, 3 injured

Rolling gun battle on Las Vegas Strip leaves 3 dead, 3 injured

By John M. GlionnaFebruary 21, 2013, 7:59 a.m.

LAS VEGAS -- Rolling gunfire between two cars on The Strip early Thursday left killed three people dead and three others injured and led to multiple vehicles crashing at the popular intersection of Flamingo and Las Vegas boulevards, police said.

The shootout began shortly before 4:30 a.m., when occupants of a black SUV began firing at a Maserati as the vehicles drove along the mostly deserted avenue of casinos. As the shootout reached the crossing of Las Vegas and Flamingo, the cars ran a light and the Maserati collided with a taxi.

The taxi burst into flames, killing the driver and passenger. The driver of the Maserati was also killed and the vehicle’s passenger was taken to the hospital. In all, five vehicles were involved in the crash and more people may be hurt, police said.

The SUV fled the scene and Las Vegas authorities are searching for the vehicle, which is described as a black Range Rover Sport with out-of-state dealer plates.

Police said they were reviewing surveillance cameras along The Strip to get a better description of the driver and how many occupants were in the vehicle.

The intersection of Las Vegas and Flamingo boulevards is closed to traffic in all directions, snarling rush hour traffic.

Sgt. John Sheahan of the Las Vegas Police Department said the intersection will be closed for most of the day.

“It’s a mess down there,” he told TV reporters. “We’ll be lucky to have this intersection cleared by sundown.”

A local TV station interviewed a witness, who said he rushed to the Maserati moments after the crash and found the driver still alive.

“The Range Rover shot at the Maserati,” he said. “There was a big explosion with three other cars. I ran over to help the dude in the Maserati, to give him CPR. He was still breathing. Then the ambulance came. I don’t think he made it.”

Authorities said the intersection is The Strip’s busiest, including the Bellagio, the Paris and Caesars Palace.

Television images on Thursday morning showed the intersection littered with smashed cars pointing in different directions. Bystanders said the cab erupted into a ball of flames.

The crash is the latest violent outburst on The Strip this year. Two people were critically wounded in a shooting at a parking garage Feb. 6, and a tourist was stabbed in an elevator at The Hotel at Mandalay Bay on Feb. 16.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-shootout-las-vegas-strip-20130221,0,477111.story

http://www.trbimg.com/img-5126579b/t...0-20130221/600
David Becker / AFP / Getty Images

'Rolling gun battle' on Vegas Strip kills 3

By John M. Glionna | 7:59 a.m.
At least three others are injured in gunfire exchanged between moving vehicles and a resulting multi-vehicle crash at Flamingo and Las Vegas boulevards.

http://www.trbimg.com/img-51266050/t...g-20130221/600
Jeff Scheid / Associated Press

Police: Hotel altercation sparked Vegas shooting By KEN RITTER - Associated Press

By KEN RITTER The Associated Press
Thursday, Feb. 21, 2013 | 06:52 AM Modified Thu, Feb 21, 2013 10:32 AM

LAS VEGAS -- Police investigating a deadly car-to-car shooting and fiery crash at a major Las Vegas Strip intersection believe a previous altercation at a hotel prompted the attack.

Three people were killed and at least six injured.

Police are also talking to authorities in three neighboring states about a black Range Rover Sport that fled about 4:30 a.m. Thursday from Las Vegas Boulevard and Flamingo Road.

The intersection is the site of some of the most famous casinos on the Strip, including Bellagio, Caesars Palace and Bally's.

Authorities say at least one person in the Range Rover shot at people in a Maserati that then crashed into a taxi cab.

http://media.fresnobee.com/static/im...y/previous.pnghttp://media.fresnobee.com/static/im...lery/pause.pnghttp://media.fresnobee.com/static/im...llery/play.pnghttp://media.fresnobee.com/static/im...llery/next.png
http://media.fresnobee.com/smedia/20...6.MiEm.55.jpegKTNV
AP Photo - In this still image take from video provided by KTNV, police investigate the scene of a shooting between cars on the Las Vegas Strip early Thursday, Feb. 21, 2013 in Las Vegas. Gunshots fired from a black Range Rover on the Strip early Thursday caused a Maserati to crash into a taxi, creating a fireball and killing three people as the SUV sped away. It's the latest in a series of violent actions on the tourist corridor since the beginning of the year.

The taxi cab burst into flames, and the driver and passenger were killed. The male driver of the Maserati also died, and his passenger was shot.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

The Las Vegas Strip became a scene of deadly violence early Thursday when someone in a black Range Rover opened fire on a Maserati at a stoplight, sending it crashing into a taxi that burst into flames, leaving three people dead and at least six injured.

Police were checking with nearby businesses to see whether a previous altercation prompted the car-to-car attack at Las Vegas and Flamingo boulevards, the site of several major casinos, including Bellagio, Caesars Palace and Bally's.

"This doesn't happen where we come from, not on this scale," said Mark Thompson, who was visiting from Manchester, England, with his wife. "We get stabbings, and gang violence, but this is like something out of a movie. Like 'Die Hard' or something."

Police were contacting authorities in three neighboring states about the Range Rover Sport with tinted windows and paper dealer plates that fled the scene about 4:30 a.m.

Police said the Maserati hit the taxi cab, which went up in flames, and the driver and passenger were killed. The male driver of the Maserati also died, and his passenger was shot.

"What is the genesis of this, when did this all start? We don't know yet," Las Vegas Police Sgt. John Sheahan said.

Tourists staying in high-rise hotels around the scene found police tape blocking access to the area around the intersection. Closures were expected to last most of the day.

Jeff Martin, 33, of Columbus, Ohio, said he was unable to cross the Strip several hours after the incident.

"When you're out at 4 a.m. nothing good's going to happen," he said.

Sheahan said the attack was not a rolling gun battle as previously described. The cars were stopped at a light when at least one person in the Range Rover opened fire. Several people were inside the vehicle, described as a four-door SUV with big black rims.

Six other vehicles were involved in the crash that followed, including the taxi and Maserati. The taxi was affiliated with Desert Cab company, according to general manager Sandy Shaver. He declined to comment further.

The driver and rear passenger were dead at the scene. The taxi might have been propane-powered.

The incident marked the latest violence on the Strip since the beginning of the year. Two people were critically wounded in a shooting at a parking garage Feb. 6, and a tourist was stabbed Saturday in an elevator at The Hotel at Mandalay Bay.

A spokesman for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, Jeremy Handel, said his organization didn't immediately have a comment on the latest incident and deferred to police.

Las Vegas Police Officer Jose Hernandez acknowledged that the Strip has seen several violent incidents in recent weeks but said police have made arrests or identified suspects in each case.

"People don't have to worry," he said. "This is an unusual occurrence, as tragic as it may be."

Sheahan said police have video from traffic cameras at the intersection and were checking whether the shooting might have been sparked by an altercation at a nightclub.


"We have a lot of pieces to put together to establish a timeline as to why this confrontation occurred," Sheahan said. "We have numerous detectives checking resorts on the Strip south of this intersection."
http://www.fresnobee.com/2013/02/21/3182379/3-dead-several-hurt-in-las-vegas.html

Read more here: 3 dead, several hurt in Las Vegas Strip shooting - Top Stories National - fresnobee.com

Rapper among dead after shooting, fiery crash on Las Vegas Strip

From Miguel Marquez, CNN
updated 10:30 PM EST, Thu February 21, 2013

http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/ass...-story-top.jpg

Three dead after shooting in Las Vegas

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• NEW: Kenneth Cherry Jr., a rapper known as Kenny Clutch, was killed, his lawyer says
• Gunfire and a fiery crash kill 3 in the heart of Las Vegas Strip
• Casino visitor describes seeing "fireball" from Caesars Palace
• Police are looking for a black Range Rover Sport with large black rims

Las Vegas (CNN) -- A shooting and a fiery crash left three people dead in the neon heart of the Las Vegas Strip on Thursday, and police scrambled to find out who triggered the carnage.

The bloodshed closed the Strip for about a block and a half around some of its biggest draws, leaving tourists gaping at a wrecked Maserati, a burned-out taxi and four other vehicles.

"First time in Vegas, and then, like, the whole thing, what you know from movies only -- I was shocked," Christine Gerstenberger, who was visiting the desert gambling mecca from Germany, said Thursday afternoon. She and her brothers debated going back to the hotel "because I'm totally scared," but "We're too curious," she said.

See iReporter's video of fire

One of those killed was Kenneth Cherry Jr. -- a rapper also known as Kenny Clutch -- his attorney Vicki Greco said. According to his Facebook page, Cherry is from Oakland, California, and lived in Las Vegas.

http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/ass...story-body.jpg
Shooting on the Las Vegas strip

Four of the Nevada city's biggest casinos -- Caesars Palace, the Bellagio, Bally's and the Flamingo -- are nearby, and police collected surveillance-camera video from them to help the probe.

It started around 4:20 a.m. with a dispute in the valet lot of the Aria Hotel, about a block away, Sheriff Douglas Gillespie said. Investigators haven't confirmed the cause of the altercation, but he said it spilled onto the street as someone in a black Range Rover Sport fired several shots at the Maserati as it headed north on Las Vegas Boulevard.

When the driver was hit, the Maserati continued into the intersection of the boulevard and Flamingo Road and collided with a taxi, which caught fire. The sports car's driver, the cab driver and a passenger in the taxi all died; a passenger in the Maserati and three other people in the resulting pileup were hurt, Gillespie said.

The Maserati's passenger and other witnesses are helping detectives piece together what happened, he said. And the "top priority" for police is to find the Range Rover, which sped away from the intersection, and those inside it when the shooting happened.

"This act is totally unacceptable, and we are going to make a very clear message to these individuals in regards to that," Gillespie said.

Police in neighboring states have been asked to look for the sport-utility vehicle, and Gillespie warned the occupants should be considered armed and dangerous.
"Clearly, the suspects have no regard for the lives and safety of others," he said.
The Range Rover had an out-of-state dealer plate, tinted windows and large, black rims, Las Vegas Police Sgt. John Sheahan said.

The block around the crash remained closed off into Thursday afternoon. John Lamb, who was inside Caesars Palace, told CNN affiliate KLAS he heard the commotion and saw the taxi on fire from a window.

"There was a loud bang, and I hear two other booms. I looked out my window at Caesars Palace ... and could see the fireball," he told KLAS.

http://www.10news.com/news/gunman-suspected-of-wounding-deputies-in-encinitas-shooting-found-dead-standoff-declared-over-022113

Police name suspect, impound car after fatal shooting, crash on Las Vegas Strip

By Greg Botelho, CNN
updated 10:29 PM EST, Sat February 23, 2013

http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/ass...-story-top.jpg
Ammar Asim Faruq Harris, 26, suspected in a shooting on the Las Vegas Strip on Thursday, is still at large, police said.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• The suspect fired from his Range Rover at a Maserati in Las Vegas, police say
• 26-year-old Ammar Harris is at large, though his car has been impounded, they add
• The Maserati's driver was shot, then hit a taxi spurring an explosion that left 2 dead
• The father of the Maserati's driver, an aspiring rapper, says he was "a good boy"

Follow the story here and at CNN affiliates KVVU, KLAS, KTNV and KSNV.

Las Vegas (CNN) -- Police have identified a suspect in a fatal shooting and crash on the Las Vegas Strip that left three people dead.

The suspect is 26-year-old Ammar Asim Faruq Harris, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said Saturday in a press release. He is at large, though a black Range Rover police said he was driving early Thursday morning has been impounded.

Kenneth Cherry, an aspiring rapper known as Kenny Clutch, was driving his Maserati around 4:20 a.m. Thursday when someone in a Range Rover shot at his car as it headed north on Las Vegas Boulevard.

http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/ass...story-body.jpg
Shooting on the Las Vegas strip

http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/ass...story-body.jpg
Three dead after shooting in Las Vegas

The Maserati continued into the intersection of the boulevard and Flamingo Road and collided with a taxi, which caught fire, killing cab driver Michael Boldon, CNN affiliate KVVU said.

A passenger in that taxi -- identified by the Clark County coroner's office as Sandra Sutton-Wasmund, 48, of Maple Valley, Washington -- also died. Her death and the deaths of Boldon and Cherry have been ruled homicides, according to the coroner's office.

See an iReporter's video of the fire
The fire closed a block and a half of the Strip near some of its biggest draws: Caesars Palace, the Bellagio, Bally's and the Flamingo. Police collectedsurveillance video from the casinos.

The shooting took place two blocks from where rapper Tupac Shakur was killed in 1996.

The 27-year-old Cherry leaves behind three children, the oldest being 2 years old and the youngest just 2 months, his father said. He died after being shot in the chest and arm.

Kenneth Cherry Sr. blasted news reports and social media messages about his son, claiming some had falsely characterized him as a person "involved in the rap life." He also disputed accounts that his son exchanged gunfire with the Range Rover's driver, saying he wasn't even armed at the time.

"I don't like the way that some of the media stations are portraying my son, because he was black, (like) he's a criminal," the elder Cherry told reporters. "My son was a good boy."

While the police department statement named Harris as the suspect, it did not indicate any charges have been filed so far.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/02/23/us/nevada-las-vegas-deaths/index.html?eref=googletoolbar

Reuters) - The prime suspect in the death of an aspiring rapper shot and killed while driving a Maserati on the Las Vegas Strip has a lengthy criminal history with prior arrests on charges including robbery, sexual assault and kidnapping, police said on Monday.

Authorities have identified Ammar Harris, 26, as the man they believe opened fire from behind the wheel of his luxury sport utility vehicle on Kenneth Wayne Cherry Jr., 27, on the heart of the Las Vegas strip. . .

Prime suspect in Las Vegas Strip shooting has long criminal history - Yahoo! News

Woman sought in Las Vegas Strip shooting

By CNN Staff
updated 8:53 PM EST, Tue February 26, 2013


STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Police say they want to talk to Tineesha Lashun Howard, a.k.a. Yenesis Alfonzo
• She was inside a black Range Rover at the time shots were fired, they say
• The fatal shooting and crash left three people dead

(CNN) -- Police said Tuesday they are looking for a woman in connection to a fatal shooting and crash on the Las Vegas Strip that left three people dead.

They are calling 22-year-old Tineesha Lashun Howard, a.k.a. Yenesis Alfonzo, a "person of interest."

"She's not considered a suspect," said Laura Meltzer, a spokeswoman with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. "She's somebody detectives would like to speak to in connection with this event."

Police say Howard has been identified as being inside a black Range Rover at the time shots were fired from the vehicle. She was described by police as 5 feet, 8 inches tall, weighing around 120 pounds and having green eyes and dark hair.

She is listed as a missing and possibly endangered person from the Miami area.

"This case needs to be solved," Meltzer said, urging Howard to come forward.

Police had previously identified Ammar Asim Faruq Harris, 26, as a suspect in the shooting. He is at large, though a black Range Rover police say he was driving early Thursday morning has been impounded.

Police consider Harris to be armed and dangerous and say he has an extensive criminal history, CNN affiliate KLAS reported. He has several tattoos, including a small heart -shaped one below his right eye and a large one of an owl that covers his neck and part of his chest.

Kenneth Cherry, an aspiring rapper known as Kenny Clutch, was driving his Maserati around 4:20 a.m. Thursday when someone in a Range Rover shot at his car as it headed north on Las Vegas Boulevard. Cherry, who was shot in the chest and arm, later died at a hospital.

The Maserati continued into the intersection with Flamingo Road and collided with a taxi, which caught fire, killing cab driver Michael Boldon, CNN affiliate KVVU said.

A passenger in the taxi -- identified by the Clark County coroner's office as Sandra Sutton-Wasmund, 48, of Maple Valley, Washington -- also died. Her death and the deaths of Boldon and Cherry have been ruled homicides, according to the coroner's office.

The fire closed a block and a half of the Strip near some of its biggest draws: Caesars Palace, the Bellagio, Bally's and the Flamingo. Police collected surveillance video from the casinos.
http://www.cnn.com/2013/02/26/us/nevada-las-vegas-deaths/

Police: All 3 women in SUV in Vegas attack found

By KEN RITTER | Associated Press – 1 hr 2 mins ago...

LAS VEGAS (AP) — A week after a shooting and spectacular fiery crash on the Las Vegas Strip, police said Thursday they have found and talked with all three women who were in an SUV with driver and accused shooter Ammar Harris.

Harris, 26, a felon and self-described pimp whose Internet posts show him with fists full of money and boast of a high-rolling lifestyle with prostitutes, is the subject of a multi-state manhunt following the Feb. 21 gunfire and chain-reaction crash that left three people dead and at least five people injured.

Late Wednesday, police found SUV passenger Tineesha Lashun Howard in another state, and Las Vegas police Capt. Chris Jones said for the first time that police previously found and interviewed two other women who were with Howard in Harris' black Range Rover SUV during the shooting.

The gunfire killed a self-prompted rapper driving a Maserati, and the sports car slammed into a taxi that burst into flames, killing the driver and passenger.

Jones wouldn't release the names of the other passengers in Harris' SUV, but said none had been charged with a crime. Police are concerned about their safety, the police captain said.

"There is no other person wanted in this case other than Harris," Jones said. "No one else faces charges."

Howard, a 22-year-old from Miami with a history of prostitution arrests, also uses the names Yenesis Alfonzo or Yani. She was identified by police on Tuesday as a person of interest in the case who might have been in danger. Jones wouldn't say Thursday where she was found.

Las Vegas police also sought Thursday to stop the circulation of several photos the department issued Tuesday and Wednesday in the search for Harris. Police said they depict people other than Howard.

Harris was arrested last year in Las Vegas in a 2010 prostitution case using the name Ammar Asim Faruq Harris. He was charged with robbery, sexual assault, kidnapping and coercion with a weapon, and police sought charges of pandering by force and felon in possession of concealed weapon. Court records show that case was dismissed last June.

Harris was convicted in South Carolina in 2004 of felony possession with intent to sell a stolen pistol and convicted that same year in Atlanta of a misdemeanor marijuana possession charge.

He is sought in Las Vegas on three murder warrants.

Police: All 3 women in SUV in Vegas attack found - Yahoo! News

Police: Suspect Arrested in Los Angeles in Las Vegas Shooting and Fiery Crash That Killed 3 - ABC News