A suspect is in custody after 2 people are killed, 6 others wounded in series of stabbings in front of Las Vegas casino, police say
By Paradise Afshar and Tina Burnside, CNN
A suspect is in custody after two people were killed and six others were wounded in a series of stabbings in front of a casino in Las Vegas on Thursday, police said.
Three of the surviving six victims were taken to hospitals, where they were in critical condition, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said in a news release. The remaining three victims were in stable condition.
One victim died at the scene, and another was pronounced dead at a hospital, police said.
The suspect, 32-year-old Yoni Barrios, was taken into custody on two counts of open murder with a deadly weapon and six counts of attempted murder with a deadly weapon, police said in the news release. The suspect has been booked into Clark County Detention Center. It is unclear if Barrios has legal representation.
The incident took place near the Wynn hotel and casino in the 3100 block of South Las Vegas Boulevard shortly before noon. Police Capt. Dori Koren said it was too early to determine a motive.
“The initial stabbing occurs on the sidewalk area. It appears unprovoked. There is no altercation beforehand,” Police Deputy Chief James LaRochelle said earlier Thursday. “That stabbing occurs quickly, and then the suspect subsequently goes southbound on the sidewalk area and stabs additional victims.”
A large kitchen knife was found at the scene, police said.
Sheriff Joseph Lombardo said the victims were a combination of locals and tourists, and police will provide information on them after their families have been contacted.
The suspect doesn’t appear to be from the area and is believed to have acted alone, authorities said.
“Our thoughts are with the victims of this senseless attack on the Strip today,” Clark County officials said in a statement posted on Facebook. “We are grateful for the quick response from our Clark County Fire Department, LVMPD and other first responders.”
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CNN’s Steve Almasy and Aya Elamroussi contributed to this report.
