Police shot dead a gunman after his rifle malfunctioned as he tried to carry out a mass killing in a Las Vegas gym he regularly attended.
Daniel Ortega, a 34-year-old member of the Las Vegas Athletic Club, killed one person and wounded three more when he opened fire inside the gym on Friday afternoon, according to police.
The victim was identified as Edgar Quinonez, a 31-year-old who worked at the gym for 15 years.
Assistant Sheriff Jamie Prosser of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said that Ortega approached an employee at the front desk and paced around before exchanging brief words with another worker. He then fired at the first employee, who fled into the gym.
“The suspect followed the employee deeper into the business and continued to fire rounds,” Prosser said.
Ortega fired a total of 24 rounds before three responding officers shot him six times, killing him.
“When officers arrived, he had not been shooting. Had he been, they would have pushed through those doors and engaged him,” Prosser added.
“When they came up to the window as you can see, they were able to see him through the window and our officer was able to take that shot.”
Police were able to stop Ortega from causing more harm because the gunman’s rifle had jammed.
“Fortunately, this gentleman had a malfunction in his weapon, which actually saved this from being a mass casualty event,” Prosser said.
Ortega also had extra ammunition and magazines on him, according to the cops.
Officers arrived within minutes after receiving multiple 911 calls. Police played some of the audio from those 911 calls during a press briefing.
In one clip, a caller says, “I think I saw someone coming in with an AR... I think there’s shots,”
Prosser said that, at this stage in the investigation, there is no connection between Ortega and Quinonez.
Ortega had previously been charged with a DUI and trafficking of a controlled substance in 2013. He did community service for the drug charge, and the DUI was dropped, according to court records.
If he had survived, Ortega would have faced at least 12 charges, including one count of murder with a deadly weapon and three counts of attempted murder, police said.
