UPDATE: Moments after a suspected DUI driver was shot by police officers, a witness rushed to the scene to help.
"It is very weird because nobody expects that you'll be in a wreck and they will start shooting," said the witness who did not want to be identified.
Police say they were called out to the scene for routine car accident between three vehicles. When officers arrived they found one of the drivers believed to have been intoxicated but refusing to complete a sobriety test.
Police say that is when the driver rushed to a nearby bush and grabbed a gun before shooting around at officers.
"It is a car accident, a normal car accident and the owner of one of the vehicles tells me she had to hide because a guy pulled a gun and shot at Metro," the witness said.
Police have not released the identity of the suspect but will hold a routine press conference in 72 hours.
ORIGINAL: A man is dead after Las Vegas police said he shot at officers near Rainbow Boulevard and Gary Avenue Wednesday morning.
Interactive Map: Shootings involving Las Vegas valley officers in 2018
Las Vegas police responded to a three-vehicle crash around 7:15 a.m. and determined one of the drivers involved appeared to be under the influence of alcohol. He refused a sobriety test and ran off, retrieving a gun he hid earlier in a nearby bush.
UPDATE TO OIS: @LVMPD says that person refused a field sobriety test, he ran off, and retrieved a gun that he hid earlier from a nearby bush
— Marissa Kynaston (@marissaktnv) October 10, 2018
UPDATE TO OIS: @LVMPD says after finding his gun, he shot at officers, and officers fired back. That man is dead. No officers hurt.
— Marissa Kynaston (@marissaktnv) October 10, 2018
Police said he then shot at officers and officers fired back. The man died of his injuries. No officers are injured.
Witnesses told police that the man had hid the gun before police had arrived at the crash scene.
Motorists should avoid the area. Road closures are in effect.
#LVMPD is currently investigating an officer involved shooting that occurred this morning near the intersection of Rainbow and Gary Ave.
Any media outlets responding to the scene should stage in the Walmart parking lot on Rainbow just south of Blue Diamond Rd. #OIS pic.twitter.com/BnLF9hCUKo— LVMPD (@LVMPD) October 10, 2018
This is the 20th shooting involving Las Vegas police in 2018.
