14 shot at Las Vegas hookah parlor; 1 dead and 2 critically hurt
LAS VEGAS — Fourteen people were shot during a party at a Las Vegas hookah lounge early Saturday, including one man who was killed and two others who were critically wounded.
The shooting happened about 3:15 a.m. and preliminary information indicated there was a party during which two people got into an altercation and exchanged gunfire, striking several people, said Police Capt. Dori Koren.
Koren told reporters that no arrests have been made and no suspect descriptions were immediately available but that authorities did not believe there was any danger to the general public.
Margarito Martínez Esquivel, who also worked as a ‘fixer’ for outlets including The Times, was shot Jan. 17 as he left for work.
Police went to the hookah bar identified by the Las Vegas Review-Journal as Manny’s Glow Ultra Lounge & Restaurant after receiving multiple 911 calls, Koren said.
Officers secured the scene and rendered aid, including applying tourniquets and administering CPR, Koren said.
Investigators were trying to determine the types of gun or guns used in the shooting.
“It’s a fairly large scene so it’s going to take some time to go through the entire scene,” he said. “We’re not really sure exactly what kind of weapon was used, or exactly if there were two shooters. We believe there was an exchange of gunfire, but we’re still looking into all information.”
The medical aid provided to victims by the officers who initially responded “definitely made a significance in this case,” Koren said.
Hookahs are water pipes that are used to smoke specially made tobacco that comes in different flavors.
Hours after the shooting, much of shopping plaza where the shooting occurred remained cordoned off by police tape as officers looked for stray bullets and other evidence.
“My thoughts are with the victim, their loved ones, and all those injured in last night’s senseless shooting at a hookah lounge,” U.S. Rep. Dina Titus (D-Nev.) said on Twitter. “We must do more to end gun violence.”
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