LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — A North Las Vegas resident says he's thankful to be alive after bullets flew past his head during a police shootout with a robbery suspect Wednesday.
Eddie Long said he was walking to the store when a U-Haul van pulled up near him. Seconds later, police say 30-year-old Jarvis Williams exited the vehicle and began shooting at police.
"He jumped out, put his hoodie on, and started shooting at police, and then police fired back," Long said. "Those bullets were flying by my head. It scared the death out of me. I ain't never seen something like that in my life, man."
WATCH | A witness recounts seeing the police chase unfold
Long described the experience as chaotic, and said he remains shaken by the incident.
"Still a little shaken up by yesterday. Thank God I am still here, though," Long said.
The shooting was the culmination of a series of robberies and a police chase that spanned for several miles across the Las Vegas valley.
Investigators say Williams first robbed a person at gunpoint at a store near South Fort Apache Road. Twenty minutes later, he allegedly targeted a woman in her 60s.
"You grabbed an older individual by the shoulder and neck area, spun her around and yanked her black body cross bag off of her body. She was pushed and pulled until she fell to the ground," Judge Suzan Baucum said during Williams' court appearance.
Officers attempted to stop Williams at a Walmart on West Lake Mead, but he "acted like he didn't know what was going on," according to police reports. Williams then backed into a police car before fleeing the scene.
"To be honest with you, it was crazy, the way everything went down, it was crazy," Long said.
Court documents reveal Williams shot at police because "the officer was pointing a gun at him" and he was scared he was going to get shot.
During Thursday's court hearing, prosecutors revealed Williams had previously served time for robbery.
"He has a conviction in 2015 for robbery with use of a deadly weapon. He was incarcerated from 2015 to 2021," prosecutors said. "We are extremely concerned regarding his history."
Judge Baucum set Williams' bail at $250,000 and ordered him to use an electronic monitoring device. He is scheduled to return to court on December 23.
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