High-crime Echo Bay Las Vegas condominium complex surrounded by police after swat team barricade

High-crime Echo Bay Las Vegas condominium complex surrounded by police after swat team barricade

A condominium complex in the east valley of Las Vegas was surrounded by police tape on Thursday evening after a suspect barricaded himself inside. According to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, the Echo Bay condominium complex at 2725 S Nellis Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89121 has been the frequent subject of police responses over the years. On Thursday evening, the Las Vegas SWAT Team responded to a unit on the south side of the complex. Police said that an armed subject had barricaded himself inside the unit and refused to come out for officers. That's when the SWAT Team arrived on the scene with about a dozen heavily armed officers in tactical gear. Police converged upon the condominium complex, and closed all of the surrounding streets, making the area impassible for travelers and forcing many residents to stay inside. Police could be heard over a loudspeaker from as far as several blocks away attempting to negotiate with the suspect. Most of the residents of the condominium complex had been ordered to evacuate the dangerous situation. According to witnesses, the police shut off power to the building of the barricaded unit. "We heard two loud booms back-to-back, and it sounded like they blew the door off!" said Oscar Gomez, who witnessed the incident. "After this is over, I'm moving far away from this area." According to other witnesses, the suspect was holding a child hostage inside the unit, which made police hesitant to enter. Police could be heard over the loudspeaker telling the suspect inside to release the child.

Further concerning to residents in the area is the condominium owners association board's apparent attempt to hide the escalating crime at the complex. News reporters and photographers are often threatened with trespassing when trying to gather information on the condominiums. The complex has erected a fence around the property, presumably to deter the steady stream of homeless vagrants who frequent the area, and has a security guard at the front gate. This seems to have been ineffective, however. According to one news reporter "The homeowners association seems to want to hide the fact that this complex has so much violent crime by telling reporters to leave whenever they come to report on the SWAT team's activity there".

PO Box 230801
Las Vegas, NV 89105

High-crime Echo Bay Las Vegas condominium complex surrounded by police after swat team barricade

This release was published on openPR.