LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — A homeless man was shot and killed by Las Vegas police after refusing to drop a 29-inch blade while approaching officers.
The incident happened early Tuesday morning near Eastern Avenue and Sahara Avenue.
The fire department received a call at 12:43 a.m. that a man was bleeding and appeared to be cutting off his arm with what witnesses claimed was a sword.
When officers arrived, they saw the man, identified as 41-year-old Jose Luis Saenz, holding a 29-inch blade. Body-cam video also showed Saenz's arm was covered in blood.
On Thursday, Las Vegas police identified the officers involved in the shooting as Officer Joshua Romanski and Officer Paul Guerrero. Officer Romanski is 37 years old and has worked for LVMPD since 2022. Officer Guerrero is 26 years old and has also worked for LVMPD since 2022.
Romanski arrived at the scene first. Body-cam footage shows him repeatedly asking Saenz to put down the weapon and to stop approaching him. As Saenz moved closer to Romanski, you can see Romanski continue to take steps backwards to keep space between them.
Back-up arrived on the scene and officers continued to try to deescalate the situation. They deployed a less-lethal round, which hit Saenz in the lower leg and knocked him to the ground. However, he got back up and continued to follow officers. Romanski fired three rounds and Guerrero fired two rounds, which hit Saenz.
Officers then moved forward and rendered medical aid to Saenz until emergency personnel arrived at the scene. Saenz was taken to Sunrise Hospital where he later died.
Had Sanez survived, Las Vegas police said he would have faced three counts of assault with a deadly weapon on a protected person and one count of resisting with a weapon that's not a firearm.
Both officers have been placed on routine paid administrative leave pending the outcome of a review of the incident.
Las Vegas police said this is the second officer-involved shooting this year and is their second fatal shooting this year in 2024.
