LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — A man in his late 20s was shot and killed in an apartment in northwest Las Vegas on Thursday night after police say another man was "playing with" a handgun.
Officers responded to reports of a shooting around 7 p.m. on Thursday at the Aventine-Tramonti apartment complex on Gilcrease Avenue, near Fort Apache Road and Grand Teton Drive.
The man shot was pronounced dead on the scene. His identity will be released by the coroner's office.
Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Lt. Ray Spencer stressed that the investigation is still in its preliminary stages, but police were told that the men were "hanging out" when one of them picked up a handgun and "started playing with it."
Spencer said police were told the gun "went off" and shot the victim.
The department received two 911 calls — one from the person who fired the gun and one from another person inside the apartment.
There were four people inside the apartment at the time of the shooting, Spencer said. Detectives were interviewing all of the people involved.
Spencer stressed that anyone holding a firearm needs to treat it like it is loaded.
"Especially when playing with a handgun in a setting like this, this is a tragic outcome to a situation that is completely avoidable," he said.
