LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — The suspect accused of fatally shooting a man in his West Las Vegas apartment told police that he was "high on shrooms" at the time, a new report reveals.
According to the newly-obtained arrest report, 20-year-old Paul Abercrombie walked into UMC on March 12 around 7 a.m. with several wounds on his face. Initially, UMC staff believed he was a victim of battery until a scan of his head revealed a gunshot wound on his face.
UMC Staff then contacted LVMPD dispatch about Abercrombie at approximately 1:51 p.m., according to the report. UMC staff also told officers Abercrombie said he "ingested shrooms" earlier that day, but the last thing he remembered was making music with his friend.
The friend would later be identified by the Coroner's Office as Christopher McCary.
The report indicates that officers later made contact with an individual who claimed to have received a phone call from Abercrombie around 5:26 a.m. During the phone call, Abercrombie reportedly told the individual that his friend "tried to rob him" so he "killed them" while he was "f——d up off shrooms."
The individual told police that she and her husband visited Abercrombie's apartment after the call, where they found blood on the steps outside, as well as "all over the residence." After calling out to Abercrombie, the individual told police they heard him yell "no, no, no" from the back bedroom and saw him emerge with a firearm, which he pointed at them.
The individual told officers that they ran away from the apartment and did not call the police. Though, according to the report, Abercrombie would later leave the apartment, where he was seen by an LVMPD patrol officer who attempted to stop him.
Abercrombie ran from the officer and eventually got into the backseat of another individual's car, according to the report.
The officer spoke with the vehicle’s driver, and who believed Abercrombie had fallen or been hit by a pole and would drive Abercrombie to an area hospital.
During the ride to the hospital, the individual told officers that Abercrombie said he "shot McCary" after McCary "tried to rob him" while they were in the apartment. Though the individual noted that they did not "see defensive wounds" on Abercrombie, they would later tell police that "Chris shot Paul and Paul shot Chris" at some point during the struggle.
Officers would later conduct a welfare check at Abercrombie’s apartment at around 5 p.m., where they found blood “throughout the apartment." They also located McCary’s body, kneeling with his face on the couch and a knife in his back. During the investigation, two individuals arrived at the apartment and identified themselves to officers as McCary’s girlfriend and mother.
According to the report, they told officers that they could not contact McCary and used the “Find My iPhone” feature, which took them to the apartment. The women would tell police that McCary received a call at 3 a.m. from Abercrombie, who had sent him a “beat to rap to,” and he was going to his apartment to make music.
McCary's girlfriend told police that Abercrombie and McCary had been friends since high school, according to the report.
An autopsy would also reveal that McCary's manner of death was "homicide," after three gunshot wounds and six stab wounds were discovered on his body.
Detectives would later return to the apartment to recover a 9mm handgun "covered in apparent blood" from the residence, as well as the knife found in McCary's back, according to the report.
Paul Abercrombie was taken into custody by Metro officers on March 14 and booked on a charge of Open Murder.
