It’s a combined bureaucratic entity: Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department - Wikipedia which has all the responsibilities for what most places call “police” and what most places call “sheriff.” Normally the force is just called “Metro” by the locals, the media, etc.
The city proper of Las Vegas is a section of the overall urban/suburban mass which in turn is smaller than the overall footprint of Clark County. But the city proper is where almost all the tourist and casino stuff is.
There are some incorporated cities / towns within Clark County with their own municipal police forces. But they’re a small fraction of the county total.
During the 20 years I lived there they were widely regarded as a competent and trustworthy force.
Yes, I believe most of the country has both city police departments (at least in incorporated cities) and county sheriffs. Some places even have another layer on top of that via some “state police” organization. Las Vegas is different though in that the LVMPD is one single joint city-county law enforcement agency for Las Vegas and the wider Clark County. That’s why you had LVMPD officers present at the Bunkerville standoff.
No. That article doesn’t say that. It notes a citation issued, which is the only contact police had with him. Police aren’t “aware” of people they issue moving violation tickets to.
No. The nearest police station to Mandalay Bay is, oh, 200 yards. It’s just south of Russell & the Strip. There’s a fire station there too.
I’d be surprised if it took more than 6 minutes to get an armed team up to any room at Mandalay Bay.
Mosier, I’ll be at the Venetian tomorrow; I’ll try and find you to say hello.
ETA:
Oh, you don’t “smuggle” guns to your hotel room any more than you smuggle a bag of groceries. No, there’s no security check on what people bring into the hotel.
I instantly thought of the Texas Tower sniper in Aug, 1966.
There’s no defense against a sniper in a high building or tower. Police (on the ground) with hand guns are ineffective. It requires another sniper to remove the threat or storming his position with officers.
My heart goes out to the victims and their families. It’s a horrible and senseless tragedy.
I’d be quite surprised if most LVMPD police cruisers didn’t have a “patrol rifle” in the trunk or somewhere.
That being said, a rookie cop firing an AR into the side of the Mandalay Bay from hundreds of yards away may not exactly be a recipe for success, but it would be an adequate tool for the job.
The city of Las Vegas is very small. It is centered around downtown Las Vegas.
The vast majority of the casinos and resorts are not in Las Vegas; they are in Clark County. There is a long and interesting story about taxes and zoning and the value of non-incorporation (if you find that kind of thing interesting), but the upshot is that they are not in Las Vegas. Everything on the Strip, everything you think of when you think “Las Vegas!” is actually in either the unincorporated township of Paradise (that’s where I live) or in just plain unincorporated Clark County.
There are 2 other cities in the Las Vegas valley: Henderson and North Las Vegas. Both have their own police force, their own fire department, etc.
It raises questions in my mind too, but there are quite a few guns that are not terribly difficult to convert to full-auto fire, at least if one doesn’t mind risking the 10-year stay at Club Fed. In this guy’s case, that obviously wouldn’t be an impediment.
Put me down now as one who will be quite surprised if it turns out to be a legally-owned civilian machine gun used in the shooting. I think something like a bump-fire stock or an illegally-modified gun are significantly more likely.
I’m not sure why it would be that surprising. Full auto guns, generally speaking, are available. There is just a limited supply which drives the price up to a level ($10k and up) where it’s not worth it for most people. This guy didn’t have a record and nothing would have stopped him from buying a full auto gun if he had the money.
It’d be surprising because such weapons simply aren’t used, historically, in mass shooting. Some sort of unmodified AR pattern with large capacity is the most likely generally. In this case, I’m thinking bump stock or illegal modification of the lower receiver. While full auto is possible, I’d be surprised. Cheaper and easier to modify one or more semi-autos or even just have a bunch of rifles lined up and ready to remove the need to reload or in case of a jam.
Maybe this provides some insight – Paddock’s father spent eight years on the FBIs 10 Most Wanted list and had been diagnosed as a psychopath with suicidal tendencies.
I agree that it would be unusual, if not unprecedented, for a legally acquired full auto to be used in a mass shooting. I’m just I see why it would be something to be “quite surprised” about. If you’re going to do a mass shooting from 30 stories up a machine gun is ideal and, if you have the money, it’s easiest to just buy it legally. To me, I see it as a logical step and not very surprising.
My deepest condolences and heartfelt sympathies to anyone and everyone involved. This may be a grim thought, but I’m somehow surprised that these sorts of things don’t happen with even greater regularity, given how such incidents take some no-name schmoe and make them famous overnight. The fact that these things are still exceptional gives me hope that humanity, as a whole, is good.