A gunman fatally shot three people outside a Reno, Nevada, hotel and casino and wounded others Monday before police shot him, authorities said.
Police rushed to the Grand Sierra Resort and Casino in Reno after they received calls for help about 7:25 a.m. PT, officials said.
The gunman walked onto the property in the parking lot, approached a valet area and pointed a handgun at a group of people, but the gun malfunctioned, said Sparks Police Chief Chris Crawforth, whose department is investigating the incident.
The gunman got the weapon working again and shot five people, two of whom died, Crawforth said. The shooter then fled in the parking lot and shot at a resort security guard who returned fire, Crawforth said. The gunman then fatally shot someone else driving by, he said.
The gunman fired at arriving police officers, striking a patrol car, and officers shot him, Crawforth said. The suspect was in critical condition Monday afternoon, he said.
“At this time, we have no reason to believe there’s a connection between any of the victims and the suspect. And we have no known motive by the suspect,” Crawforth said.
Two people who were shot at the valet area were in critical condition Monday, and a third person was treated and released, Sparks police said.
Officers arrived about 2½ minutes after they received calls about an active shooter, Reno police said.
Police respond to a shooting Monday outside the Grand Sierra Resort in Reno, Nev. Andy Barron / AP
No police officers were shot, Reno Police Chief Kathryn Nance told reporters. One officer sustained minor injuries, believed to be from glass fragments, she said.
No one in the casino was injured.
Police did not identify the gunman. He had “multiple firearm magazines with him at the time of the shootings,” Crawforth said.
Sparks police are investigating because an officer-involved shooting occurred, officials said.
Reno Mayor Hillary Schieve thanked first responders for their fast action.
“My heart goes out to everyone who has been impacted by the tragic shooting incident at the Grand Sierra Resort (GSR) in Reno this morning,” she said in a City Hall statement.
State authorities and Washoe County sheriff’s deputies also responded to help Reno police, Gov. Joe Lombardo said in a statement.
“While we wait for more information, please join Donna and me in praying for the victims and their families and for our brave first responders,” said Lombardo, who was sheriff of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department in 2017 when 58 people were killed near the Mandalay Bay Hotel.
Stephen Paddock opened fire from his 32nd-floor suite, killing dozens of people who were attending the Route 91 Harvest Festival.
Schieve, the mayor of Reno, said at the news conference Monday afternoon about the Grand Sierra Resort shooting that “life is very, very, fragile.”
“So, please tell your family, your loved ones, your friends that you love them every day, because life can be very unpredictable,” she said.
Janhvi Bhojwani contributed.
