The alleged gunman fled to a nearby residential area, then tried to take his own life.
Two security guards died from gunshot wounds on Saturday at Arizona Charlie’s Decatur, an off-the-strip casino in Las Vegas. The shooting happened before 7am on Saturday, after the two security staff members investigated a disturbance in a hotel suite.
The alleged shooter, Christopher Olague, fled the casino and tried to hide in nearby residential homes. Olague is said to have tried to break into two different houses, but the homeowners in both cases kept Olague from enterting their residences.
Next, police say Christopher Olague tried to steal a car from one of the home. When he was unable to escape in a vehicle, Olague entered a laundry room adjacent to the garage. There, he shot himself in the head, apparently in a suicide attempt. Police found Christopher Olague unconscious in the laundry room. He is said to be alive, but with a “non-survivable head wound”.
Not a Terrorist Incident
Capt. Robert Plummer of the Metropolitan Police told reporters outside Arizona Charlie’s that investigators are still unsure why the shooting happened, but they could be confident it was not terrorist-related. Plummer said, “I want you to know right now that this has nothing to do with terrorism.”
Police have not identified the two victims in the shooting. They described the security guards as a man and a woman — both in their 40s — but want to inform family members before the public learns their identitites. Investigators said one of the two victims was armed. Most likely, the Clark County Coroner’s Office will release their names, pending autospy results.
New Year’s Weekend Tragedy
The shooting happened at the start of one of the biggest weekends of the year. The New Year’s holiday is always a time of celebration in Las Vegas, when revelers flock to the city to bring in the New Year in one of the flashiest ways possible.
Casino executives and local officials have been trying to convince tourists and gamblers that the Las Vegas Strip was a safe place to visit again. Coming just three months after the Mandalay Bay attack, which was the deadliest shooting in modern American history, the shooting on Saturday is another reminder that a major thoroughfare can become deadly in a moment’s notice.
Mandalay Bay Shooting
In the case of the Mandalay Bay shooting, Stephen Paddock shot hundreds of concert goers, before turning the gun on himself. In all, 58 people died and over 500 others were injured in the attack. Police never determined what caused Stephen Paddock’s death, though investigators later noted that the high stakes gambler had been on a 2-year losing streak.
Just last month, an Ohio man threatened to go on a rampage in the Las Vegas casino his estranged wife works at. In that case, the man said he would shoot up a Las Vegas casino, but also threatened to kill a thousand people at his local church. FBI arrested the man for making terroristic threats. They never released the name of the casino he had threatened.
Christopher Olague’s Motives
That is why Las Vegas police are quick to note that the shooting at Arizona Charlie’s Decatur was not a terrorist incident: it is the last thing the Las Vegas Strip needs, is to be considered a potential terrorist target. In the Christopher Olague case, it appears that the security staff happened upon an escalating incident at just the wrong time — at a time when a gunman was ready to snap.
Given the fact Christopher Olague might never wake up from his headwound, it is possible Metro Police might never know the full reasons for Olague’s deadly attack. As in the Stephen Paddock case, they will have to piece together the final days, weeks, and months of Christopher Olague’s life.
