Shootout Erups Outside Rio Casino In Las Vegas

The early hours of Sunday morning saw the parking garage of the Rio All Suites Hotel & Casino transformed into a battle ground, as suspected rival gang members fired 30 rounds, wounding three people and damaging ten vehicles along the way.
The shootout took place at 4 a.m. Sunday, and is believed to involve the notorious Wood gang, whose members are suspected in the murder of Metro Police Officer Trevor Nettleton in 2009.
The Wood gang is an example of a Hybrid criminal organization, which operates without being tied to one particular turf and with members spread all across The Valley. Apparently, many of these gang members originated in Los Angeles 300 miles away, with Californias three-strikes law then pushing them to relocate to nearby Las Vegas. Whereas Las Vegas’ traditional Hispanic and Asian gangs still stick to a hierarchical structure, the predominantly African American hybrid gangs are a much looser association, causing greater logistical problems for the police.
In the latest incident, police officers were responding to the sound of gun fire coming from the Rio parking garage and when they arrived were greeted by blood on the ground. One officer then saw a 22 year-old firing a gun and running towards him and so returned fire, with Deputy Chief Jim Owens later explaining:
“He (the officer) is seeing the muzzle flash, and there’s certainly a lot of gunfire still continuing. The officer fired several rounds, and the subject went down immediately.”
After the shootout, two wounded men were taken to the University Medical Center, while another two men were then shot in the hospital’s parking lot as they gathered to support the men being treated inside.
Meanwhile, Rio All Suites Hotel & Casino, owners Caesars Entertainment Corp, delayed their guests’ checkout times and provided various free vouchers and services as police collected evidence from the initial crime scene.