LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — A Metro arrest report is revealing new details about the moment a toddler shot herself with a firearm found on a preschool playground earlier this month.
On Nov. 3, 2023, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department received a report of a shooting on an RTC bus on Nellis Boulevard. Arriving officers immediately located a black adult male suffering from an apparent gunshot wound and immediately transported him to UMC Trauma.
An initial investigation revealed that a fight had broken out between the victim and another rider, who produced a handgun during the fight and shot the man. After canvassing the area, police were able to locate and identify the suspect as T'Shaun Rucker.
Police would later obtain surveillance footage from the bus, which confirmed Rucker as the shooter.
According to the report, the footage shows Rucker boarding the bus at the Nellis Boulevard and Cheyenne Avenue bus stop around 10:31 a.m. The victim is seen getting on at the next stop. The two can be seen talking calmly before the victim takes a seat several rows in front of Rucker.
Moments later, Rucker and the victim can then be seen having a more heated discussion before the victim approaches Rucker and punches him several times. The footage shows Rucker retreating to the back of the bus and being punched several more times before shooting three times at the victim, who flees the bus.
Police say witnesses at the scene would also see Rucker flee the bus and climb over a wall into the playground of Foundation Preschool.
Soon after, LVMPD dispatchers would receive another call around 10:48 a.m. about a toddler who had shot herself in the chest at Foundation Preschool.
Officers arriving on the scene were directed inside by school staff, where they would locate a 2-year-old girl suffering from a gunshot wound to the chest. Officers immediately began to provide medical aid.
Another officer was directed to the playground by staff, where they located the gun on the wall of the preschool playground area.
Police interviewed an employee of the preschool, who would describe the moments leading up to the shooting. Before taking the children outside, the director of the Preschool did a sweep of the playground to ensure no hazards were present. This check was done before the suspect fled through the playground.
The interviewed teacher recalls seeing the toddler and her twin brother walking toward the play area, then immediately hearing a gunshot and smelling gunpowder. After running over, the employee told police that she saw the toddler on the floor with the gun lying next to her hand. She grabbed the firearm immediately and placed it on top of a wall, where police would later retrieve it.
The employee noticed that her nose was bleeding, and she had a gunshot wound to her chest. She would run inside the school to tell another teacher to call 911.
Police also interviewed the mother of the toddler, who said her three children had been attending the preschool for approximately one year. The school would often provide her with text updates throughout the day, but following the shooting, she received a phone call to inform her that her daughter was headed to the hospital after she was shot.
Rucker is facing several charges, including attempted murder, possession of a firearm while under 18, child abuse, and possession of a dangerous weapon on school grounds.
