BODY CAM: Police shoot and kill suspect after he ignored commands to stay away from gun
LAS VEGAS (KSNV) — Metro police just released video of the officer involved shooting that left one man dead.
The shooting happened on Friday morning near the 200 block of Madge Lane.
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The shooting happened around 4:00 Friday morning as those officers were headed to another call. Officers say they noticed a car driving recklessly, so they pulled the car over. That’s when video shows the driver, identified as 22-year-old Junior David Lopez, get out of the car with a gun—and immediately drop it.
But two other passengers in the car tell News 3 they recall how this unfolded differently. Lopez’ girlfriend, Amber Bustillo and her friend, Kimberly Gonzales, were in the car. They said they heard Lopez say he had a gun with a permit. They also said he had it in the holster the whole night. Gonzales said she remembers seeing him toss the gun towards the back tire.
Metro officers say that Lopez told officers to shoot him, twice. But Bustillo and Gonzales said they heard him say, “Don’t shoot me,” before shots were fired.
Despite being given commands to stay away from the gun, Lopez then got to his knees and reached for it. Both officers fired at least 2 rounds, Striking Lopez.
Even after he was hit, Lopez continued to reach for the weapon, forcing one of the officers to fire another shot, hitting him.
Lopez later died at the hospital.
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Lopez’ father said he will meet with Metro officers on Wednesday to take a look at the video and judge for himself what happened. He also said he would like witnesses to come forward and share their account.
This is the fifth officer involved shooting for metro police in 2018, and the third to turn deadly.
