Police and firefighters appear on the scene of a shooting at a Walmart store, Sunday, June 8, 2014 in Las Vegas. Police said two suspects shot two officers at a Las Vegas pizza parlor before fatally shooting a person and turning the guns on themselves at a nearby Walmart. AP
WASHINGTON–Two Las Vegas police officers and a civilian were killed Sunday in an apparent ambush that ended with the two gunmen killing themselves, local media reported Sunday.
One of the attackers yelled “This is the start of a revolution” before shooting the officers and stripping them of their weapons and ammunition, the Las Vegas Review-Journal said.
They gunned down Officers Alyn Beck, 41, and Igor Soldo, 31, Las Vegas police officials said. One of the officers was able to fire back before he died, but it’s unclear if he hit the suspects, Sheriff Doug Gillespie of the Las Vegas Metro Police Department said at a news conference Sunday afternoon.
Both officers were pronounced dead at University Medical Center. Beck had been with the department since 2001 and leaves behind a wife and three children. Soldo had been with the force since 2006 and is survived by a wife and baby, police said.
The attackers then headed to a nearby Walmart store, exchanging gunfire with and ultimately killing a civilian who was carrying a concealed weapon.
The male shooter, described as a tall white man, yelled “everyone get out” before shooting, Assistant Sheriff Kevin McMahill said.
The two gunmen then went to the back of the Walmart for “some kind of suicide pact,” McMahill said.
The female suspect shot the male suspect before killing herself, Gillespie said. The victim’s identity hasn’t been confirmed, and the suspects’ names haven’t been released.
Earlier, police alerted the public on their Twitter feed.
“We’re investigating a multiple shooting at the 300 block of N Nellis. Persons have been injured. Avoid the area. Please RT. #Vegas,” the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said on Twitter.
In a statement, Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman called the killings a “cruel act” and praised the officers for dedicating “their lives to protecting all of us in our community.”
Wal-Mart expressed its condolences in a statement and that the company is working with police on the investigation. Cici’s Pizza said in a statement the company was deeply saddened by the shooting and would keep the location closed until further notice.
Sunday’s killings come less than a year after the Las Vegas police department’s most recent on-duty death. Officer David VanBuskirk died while rescuing a stranded hiker by helicopter on July 22, 2013.
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Originally posted: 7:03 am | Monday, June 9th, 2014