A man who allegedly stole a wheel loader near Las Vegas, tried to run over an officer and crashed into two patrol cars was shot by police.
The incident began around 9 a.m. January 4 when the Henderson Police Department was dispatched for “a stolen motor vehicle,” according to Capt. Haven Tillmon.
A 33-year-old man allegedly tried to steal a 39,000-pound 2007 Kawasaki wheel loader from a nearby construction site in the city, just southeast of Las Vegas.
“As they arrived to attempt to stop the construction vehicle, the driver of the construction vehicle attempted to run over the officer numerous times,” Tillmon said during a news conference January 4. The suspect also rammed two patrol cars.
Two officers fired shots, according to Tillmon. He was struck once in the arm and once in the leg. He was taken into custody and then to a local hospital.
“During the initial arrest of the suspect, two officers were injured with non-life-threatening injuries, and they were also transported to local hospitals,” Tillmon reported.
During a news conference January 7, Deputy Chief Matthew Murnane presented the following account of the incident:
The suspect jumped a chain link fence at a private construction site and hotwired the loader. A security guard confronted the suspect who threatened to kill the guard. The guard reported the suspect was armed with a screw driver.
The suspect crashed the loader through the fence and then entered Taylor Street. The first officer arrived, got out of her vehicle and commanded him to stop. He drove toward the officer and her patrol vehicle. As she backed up, he kept coming toward her.
“The officer discharged her firearm in an attempt to stop the deadly threat,” Murnane said. The officer, who has been with the police department since 2021, fired five shots.
A second officer arrived. As he was getting out of his vehicle, the loader rammed both police vehicles, and the officer fired four shots. The officer was identified as a sergeant who has been with the department 10 years.
The loader came to a stop with both vehicles lodged under it. Additional officers arrived.
They commanded him in English and in Spanish to get out of the loader with his hands up, but he refused. Officers then climbed onto the loader to remove him. During an ensuing struggle, two officers and the suspect fell about 7 feet off the loader onto the ground.
The officers and the suspect had non-life-threatening injuries. The officers have been released from the hospital.
- Two counts of attempted murder.
- Resist public officer with a deadly weapon (not firearm)
- Grand larceny of motor vehicle.
- Destroy property of another, $250,000-$500,000.
- Destroy/injure real/personal property of another.
Murnane said the officers who fired their weapons are under administrative leave pending an investigation.
He did not have a motive for the incident at this time, saying the suspect has been uncooperative. The suspect had a shoebox with him that contained writings, Murnane said. “Most of it was incoherent; however, there was some suicidal ideologies that were in there.”
The man was not homeless. He lived in the nearby valley area and was not part of the construction crew, Murnane said.
During the news conference, Murnane played audio 911 calls and showed officer body-cam, vehicle camera and surveillance camera video of the incident:
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