LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department provided an update on Monday afternoon following last week’s officer-involved shooting in the east valley.
Assistant Sheriff Jamie Prosser began the briefing shortly after 3 p.m. by noting that this was the department’s eighth officer-involved shooting incident in 2023 and the fifth such non-fatal shooting this year. She added that there had been 12 officer-involved shootings by this point in 2022.
Sheriff Prosser recapped the events of November 29 which began with a report of a person with a gun. The shooting occurred on the 5700 block of Baffy Circle.
She identified the officer as Coleman Oswald, 37. He has been with LVMPD since 2009 and is currently assigned to the Homeland Security and Special Operations Division, Special Weapons and Tactics Bureau (SWAT). She added that he fired three shots at the suspect, Cristhyan Vizcarra, 39, using a .223 caliber Colt M4 carbine rifle with a tactical light and optic attached.
The suspect was armed with a .22 caliber Uzi. Prosser detailed all of the charges against Vizcarra, which include two counts of assault with a deadly weapon, two counts of resisting with a firearm and two counts of grand larceny auto, among others.
Police responded after Vizcarra reportedly pointed a gun at a tow truck driver on the 3200 block of N. Nellis Blvd. Sheriff Prosser said that the driver was attempting to tow the suspect’s vehicle because it had been parked on private property. Vizcarra fled in the vehicle before officers arrived.
LVMPD air support located the suspect “driving recklessly” in the area and followed him to the 3000 block of Ringe Lane, where he crashed. The suspect then ran into a nearby tow yard where he stole an unoccupied tow truck. Air support continued to follow him.
Sheriff Prosser explained that the suspect drove the stolen truck for approximately 20 minutes, to the area of Sloan Lane and Slice Drive, where he left the stolen tow truck in the middle of the road. The suspect then ran toward the 5700 block of Sandtrap Court and entered a residence.
LVMPD patrol officers surrounded that home as the residents escaped from it unharmed.
“Because Vizcarra refused to peacefully surrender, a barricade was declared and our SWAT and crisis negotiators were requested to the scene,” Prosser said. She added that the suspect eventually called LVMPD communications himself.
At 8:12 p.m., officers containing the perimeter saw the residence’s garage door open. The suspect left the garage on a motorcycle and headed down the driveway. SWAT officers then fired several “low lethal rounds” at Vizcarra, according to Sheriff Prosser. This caused the suspect to fall off the motorcycle just a few feet after leaving.
Vizcarra then ran through the neighborhood, with SWAT officers in pursuit on foot. An LVMPD drone also followed the suspect, tracking him to the driveway of a residence on Baffy Circle. The suspect was holding a firearm as SWAT officers approached him and gave him “numerous commands to drop the gun.”
The suspect did not comply, but instead pointed the gun at SWAT officers. That is when Officer Oswald fired his weapon. After the suspect was hit, officers began providing life-saving measures to Vizcarra. He was then taken to Sunrise Hospital, where he underwent surgery.
Police then played body-worn video footage from the encounter. Vizcarra has an initial appearance in Clark County Justice Court scheduled for December 5.
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