A look at recent violence on the Las Vegas Strip
Feb 23, 2013, 2:59 PM
LAS VEGAS (AP) – A gun battle and car explosion on the Las Vegas Strip on Thursday is just the latest in a series of violent episodes that have raised concerns among tourism officials that the city’s image as “Disneyland for adults” is under threat.
Crime is falling on the main tourist corridor, but browsing through news reports from the past months, you might think the statistics were deceiving. Here’s a look at some of the recent crimes and court cases that have grabbed headlines:
_ Dec. 21, 2012: A casino card dealer is accused of using razor blades to slash a co-worker’s face at a blackjack table at the Bellagio casino-resort.
_Jan. 1, 2013: A 20-year-old man is accused of firing a gunshot into the floor of a crowded Circus Circus during a New Year’s Eve argument.
_Jan. 1, 2013: A sergeant in Saudi Arabia’s air force is accused of pulling a 13 year-old boy into a hotel room at Circus Circus and sexually assaulted him.
_Feb. 11, 2013: A University of California, Berkeley, law student pleads not guilty in what prosecutors allege was the torture death and beheading of an exotic bird at a resort.
_Feb. 6, 2013: An overnight shooting in a parking structure outside a movie theater left two teens with major injuries and also hurt a third teen.
_ Feb. 14, 2013: A former high school football coach and teacher from Florida was sentenced to three months in jail after being convicted for accidentally killing a Utah man with a single punch at a casino.
_ Feb. 16, 2013: Two men were booked on suspicion of attempted murder after allegedly stabbing a guest in the elevator of The Hotel at Mandalay Bay on the Las Vegas Strip.
(Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
