Bullet Shot Onto MGM Grand Gaming Floor, Latest Gunfire on Las Vegas Strip

Posted on: October 2, 2020, 10:53h. 

Last updated on: October 2, 2020, 01:46h.

Ed Silverstein @casinoorgedsilv Read More
Expertise: Legal, Tribal Gaming.

A shot was fired into the MGM Grand Las Vegas gaming floor during a struggle over a handgun Friday morning. The discharge is the latest incident involving firearms on or near The Strip.

Las Vegas Strip Shooting
Las Vegas Metro police are investigating the discharge of a firearm at the MGM Grand Las Vegas. A bullet went into the floor of the gaming area. No injuries were reported. (Image: Hotel News Resource)

Friday’s handgun discharge took place when one of two men engaged in an argument pulled out the firearm. A third person took the gun from the suspect, Las Vegas Metro Police Lt. Frank Humel told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. The third person was not identified in press reports.

The two suspects fled from the casino in different directions, according to KLAS, a local TV station. The third person handed the gun to casino security officers. Police were notified at 2:38 am PT.

“We are assisting Metro with their investigation. Operations are unaffected and continue normally,” MGM Resorts International spokesman Brian Ahern told Casino.org.

There were no injuries from the gun’s discharge, the Review-Journal said. The incident took place near casino elevators, local TV station KNTV, reported.

Recent Shootings Near Strip

Last month, an occupant in a passing car fired a gun into a crowd in a parking lot near the Stage Door Casino in Las Vegas. The trio of wounded victims required treatment at a local hospital.

Three men later were arrested for the shooting. The Stage Door features video poker and slot machines.

Last month, another person was shot in the leg following a fight near the Aria Resort & Casino. She suffered minor injuries. That shooting took place during a birthday party held for MoneyBagg Yo, according to social media posts. The rapper denies he was the target of the shooting, the Review-Journal said.

Earlier, another victim was shot five times during a fight in front of Paris Las Vegas. That person and a second victim are recovering from injuries.

Dangerous Las Vegas

“Vegas is (a) very dangerous place to be these days. No security, no protection, and service is not the way it used to be. I was there (a) month and a half ago and did not feel safe at all,” Norik Bakhdanyan posted on MGM Grand’s Facebook page this week. Bakhdanyan called for more police presence on the strip.

How many shooting on the strip last week? Just 3? I’ll pass,” another Facebook poster, Luis Valdez, said.

Last month, Metro Police Capt. Dori Koren told the Review-Journal that aggravated assaults on or near The Strip have jumped 29 percent when contrasted to the same period during 2019. As of Sept. 19, there were 308 aggravated assaults in the department’s Convention Center Area Command.

There were 238 reports of aggravated assaults in the area during the same period in 2019. Aggravated assaults involving a firearm were up 35 percent this year from 2019 in the Convention Center Area Command. Police have made more than 1,100 arrests and seized 64 guns in downtown Las Vegas and on The Strip over recent weeks, according to Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo.

In response to the increase in crime, more Metro officers were assigned to The Strip area starting last month. The initiative is part of “Operation Persistent Pressure” to improve safety.