Home invasion leaves one dead, another critical in east Las Vegas

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) – An apparent home invasion gone wrong left one dead, and another in critical condition Thursday, police investigators said.

The incident occurred at approximately 9:36 p.m. at the Crystal Court Apartments near Desert Inn Road and Cambridge Street in east Las Vegas, according to officials from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.

At the same time as dispatchers received the shooting report, officers at a nearby gas station were approached by a man in his 30s who told them he had been shot. The man was given medical aid and then taken to an area hospital where he was listed as in critical condition at last report.

Officers followed a trail of blood from the shooting victim across the street to the apartment complex. When officers got to the building, they located a second-floor apartment where investigators said it was obvious that the shooting had occurred. However, there was no one in that home.

Investigators followed another trail of blood to an elevator, where they found another shooting victim. He was taken to an area hospital and later pronounced dead.

While officers tended to that shooting victim, investigators found another man on the sidewalk near the complex who said that a shooting had occurred in his apartment and that he had jumped from his second-story home to the sidewalk below. Police said that man was medically treated and was cooperating with investigators.

Upon further investigation, police investigators believe the incident was an attempted home invasion by three men. The man who had jumped to the sidewalk was the resident of the apartment and had fired at the individuals attempting the home invasion, investigators said. The individuals found shot were the perpetrators of the home invasion, police said.

Police believe one individual may be outstanding in the case, and investigators believe all people involved were familiar with each other and that the incident was not random.