NEWS, TIPS & ADVICE | LAS VEGAS
Man opens fire in Vegas' New York-New York casino | Video
Three people are injured before the gunman is tackled by bystanders and taken into custody.
A man opened fire from a mezzanine inside the New York-New York Hotel and Casino on the Las Vegas Strip early this morning, wounding three people before being tackled by casino patrons, authorities said.
Police revised initial reports that four people were wounded in the 12:45 a.m. shooting at the New York-New York, and credited bystanders with subduing the gunman before authorities arrived.
"These are the real heroes. They saw him shooting and tackled him and held him," police Lt. Randy Sutton said, identifying those who stepped in as three off-duty, out-of-town police officers and two members of the military. He said he did not know their names. "Amazingly, few people were hurt," Sutton said.
The man, believed to be in his early 50s and a Las Vegas resident, "discharged his firearm several times," said Officer Ramon Denby, a Las Vegas police spokesman.
Sutton and police Capt. James Dillon said they knew of three wounded, despite early reports that two women and two men had been taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening wounds.
Police were not immediately sure how many shots were fired. Denby said investigators were collecting bullet casings.
Denby said the casino was packed with people in town after the Fourth of July.
The man, whose identity has not been released, was not a hotel employee or a guest, Denby said.
He was being questioned by police while investigators reviewed surveillance tapes from inside and outside the casino, Sutton said.
The man entered the casino from a Las Vegas Boulevard walkway connecting the New York-New York to the MGM Grand hotel and casino about 12:45 a.m. and opened fire with a handgun, randomly shooting at people on the casino floor below, authorities said.
"This is a very rare incident," Denby said. "It seems like some local guy who snapped and went to the hotel to do it."
Denby said the casino remained open while investigators were interviewing witnesses.
Casino spokeswoman Yvette Monet said hotel and casino operations were restored by 6 a.m.
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