Two dead, 6 hurt in stabbing attack in front of casino on Las Vegas Strip, police say
Two people died and six others were injured in a stabbing attack in front of a casino on the Las Vegas Strip on Thursday, Oct. 6, Nevada authorities said.
The attack, which happened on the sidewalk, was unprovoked “with no altercation beforehand,” Capt. James LaRochelle of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said during an afternoon news briefing.
The victims were a mixture of locals and tourists, Sheriff Joseph Lombardo said. Police have yet to release the victims’ names pending family notification.
Lombardo said that “within a matter of minutes from the crime being committed,” a suspect was arrested.
Police did not say specifically where the attack happened.
The news was posted initially on Twitter.
“At approximately 11:42 a.m, the LVMPD received a report of a stabbing with multiple victims in front of a casino in the 3100 block of South Las Vegas Boulevard,” Las Vegas police said.
Early reports said one person was dead at the scene, while the other victims were taken to hospitals.
Two people later were reported dead, with six others injured, Capt. Dori Koren of the Metropolitan Police Department said during an earlier news briefing. Three of the victims were reported in critical condition, while three others were stable.
“The scene is under control. There is not a safety issue at this time,” Koren said.
The weapon was a “large kitchen knife,” according to Koren.
The suspect, described as a man in his early 30s, initially stabbed one person on the east side of South Vegas Boulevard before traveling south and stabbing several more people, LaRochelle said. The man stabbed another person on the south side of Sands Avenue before traveling east down the street.
Witnesses said some of the victims appeared to be street performers dressed as showgirls posing with tourists, Fox 5 reported.
Witness Pierre Fandrich said he initially thought he “heard three or four showgirls laughing,” only to find it was screaming, KTNV reported. Fandrich told the station he saw one woman with a stab wound to the back trying to help another who was on the ground.
Jason Adams told KLAS he saw the attacker stab a woman dressed as a showgirl.
“This guy came, ran up, and started stabbing this lady in front of me and she ran around the escalators and she tried to get up under the bridge and her girlfriend was trying to help her,” he told the station.
The suspect was found in front of the Venetian hotel, KTNV reported.
The suspect “had a significant amount of blood on his sleeves at the time of the arrest,” KSNV reported.
LaRochelle said that the suspect is not a resident, but rather came to the “community recently.”
The investigation is ongoing, police said.
“There are road closures in the area,” police said. “Citizens are advised to avoid the area.”
Clark County officials took to Twitter to share their condolences.
“Our thoughts are with the victims of this senseless attack on the Strip today,” the tweet said.
This story was originally published October 6, 2022 at 3:04 PM with the headline "Two dead, 6 hurt in stabbing attack in front of casino on Las Vegas Strip, police say."