A man who was arrested inside Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on Sunday ran from security and struggled with police inside an elevator before he grabbed an officer's gun and pulled the trigger while it was still in the holster, police say. The gun fired and wounded two officers.
About 1:33 a.m. on July 4, a man named Lyndon Troung had pushed a security officer while attending the Illenium concert, police told Fox 5. After this altercation, he fled on foot and engaged in a chase with Las Vegas police, according to LVMPD Assistant Sheriff Laz Chavez.
"His behavior was erratic that night," Chavez said.
Troung was non-compliant with police and it was a struggle to get his handcuffs on, Chavez said. When officers attempted to adjust the handcuffs while holding him up against an elevator wall, Troung was able to reach down with his left hand, while cuffed, and grab the trigger of an officer's Glock 21 handgun. During the struggle, Troung fired one shot from the holster, hitting an officer's leg.
"He's got your gun!" one of the officer's said on body-worn camera. "Get him a tourniquet!"
At the time of the shooting, the gun was secured in a "duty holster" that was mounted on the officer's belt.
A second officer was injured by bullet fragments to his ankle.
Both officers suffered non-life-threatening wounds. They have since been released from the hospital.
LVMPD is looking into policies surrounding weapons and holsters
"It can very well be an equipment issue," Chavez said. "I spent this morning looking at a number of different holsters and I have the same concerns that probably everyone in this room has. We're going to look at that and make some determinations of whether or not we need to discontinue the use of some of these holsters and certainly go into training."
