In a turn of events that began with violence and ended in a fatal confrontation, 23-year-old Hispanic male Mauricio Hernandez was killed on March 8, 2011, in Las Vegas, Nevada. His death came at the hands of a police officer, but only after Hernandez himself had engaged in a shooting earlier that same evening. The night's events unfolded in two distinct and tragic episodes, leaving one man paralyzed and Hernandez dead.
The evening's violence began at approximately 7:34 p.m.
when Hernandez approached a man who was taking out the garbage at his home on Stockbridge Street. Without provocation, Hernandez pulled out a handgun, chambered a round, and fired multiple times, striking the victim in the lower back. The victim was left paralyzed as a result of the shooting. After the shooting, Hernandez fled the scene. Ballistics tests would later confirm that the gun Hernandez used in a subsequent confrontation with police was the same one used to shoot the man in his garage. Investigators have not determined a motive for this initial, seemingly random act of violence.
Roughly forty minutes after the first shooting, Hernandez entered a tavern known as "The Bar," located about a mile away on North Nellis Boulevard. He sat down and ordered a drink. A short time later, Las Vegas Police Sergeant David Toney, in uniform, entered the bar for a routine coffee break. Upon seeing the officer, Hernandez immediately got up from his barstool, drew a semi-automatic handgun, and advanced toward Sergeant Toney, pointing the weapon at him. In the process of drawing his weapon, Hernandez racked the slide, ejecting a live round.
Faced with an imminent threat, Sergeant Toney drew his service weapon and fired five shots at Hernandez. Hernandez then retreated into the bar's restroom, where he succumbed to a gunshot wound. While some witnesses believed Hernandez had fired his weapon at the officer, investigators found no spent casings from his gun at the scene. An autopsy later revealed the presence of methamphetamine in Hernandez's system. Following a review of the incident, the Clark County District Attorney's Office concluded that Sergeant Toney's actions were not criminal in nature, as he had acted in self-defense. Civilian witnesses at the scene also told investigators they believed the officer had no other choice.
