#2022-01-06

This incident occurred around 11:30 p.m. when a convenience store employee called 911 to report a number of customers told him about a man outside with a gun who was threatening to rob the store.

“… But they said that he's flashed a gun and he's talking about robbing the place," said the convenience store employee to the 911 operator.

Two officers in the area arrived on scene about 3 minutes later. They contacted 32-year-old Gary Sherrod who was seated outside the store. Sherrod stood up and officers noticed he had a gun in his hand. The two officers gave multiple commands for Sherrod to drop the gun, which he ignored. Sherrod held the gun in front of his body, moving it around in different directions.

The officers' body worn cameras were activated. However, the views were obstructed at times, including at the time of the shooting.

The officer who fired told investigators Sherrod pointed the weapon in his direction, which resulted in the officer-involved shooting.

Slightly more than a minute elapsed from the time the officers contacted Sherrod to the time of the officer-involved shooting.

After the shooting, officers could see Sherrod no longer had the gun. It was on the ground out of his reach. They moved in to detain him and provided medical aid until the Phoenix Fire Department arrived.

Sherrod was transported to a local hospital to receive treatment for the gunshot wound. He is expected to survive his injuries and upon release from the hospital, will be booked in to jail.

Las Vegas police played a 911 call and showed police body camera footage of an armed burglary suspect who was fatally shot by a Metro police officer last Thursday in the year’s first officer-involved shooting.

Metro Assistant. Sheriff John McGrath held a news conference Monday afternoon to release details of the deadly Jan. 6 encounter in a southeast Las Vegas neighborhood.

Police identified Ricardo Antonio Otero, 30, as the suspect who was shot after a confrontation with police on Broadbent Boulevard, near Cherry Street.

McGrath said police received a 911 call about a burglary in progress.

“The caller stated his son Ricardo Antonio Otero was armed with a knife and attempting to break into the house,” McGrath said.

McGrath said Otero was spotted by police walking along Broadbent and when a pedestrian stop was attempted, Otero refused to listen to police, dropped his backpack, pulled out a large hunting knife, and began walking toward Officer Jason Guerra who yelled seven times for Otero to “drop the knife.”

Otero’s body-worn camera footage showed the incident unfold up until the point of the shooting.

“Otero then charged at Officer Guerra while holding the large knife in his hand. Officer Guerra discharged his duty weapon four times, striking Otero causing him to fall to the ground,” McGrath said.

Otero died at the hospital. McGrath said Otero’s father told police that his son had some mental health issues. Guerra, 40, has been with Metro since 2015.