Las Vegas police use patrol vehicle to strike and kill armed suspect in fatal stabbing

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Las Vegas police officers used a patrol vehicle Tuesday to strike and kill a man who the department says fatally stabbed a female at an apartment complex and then ran into the street and “began to walk toward occupied vehicles” while armed with a knife.

Police Capt. Joshua Martinez said officers had been called to investigate reports of a stabbing at an apartment complex in western Las Vegas when they encountered a man brandishing a knife in the street. Martinez said officers hit the man with their patrol vehicle “to get him down to the ground” and take him into custody. He died at the scene.

“As we know, there are various ways to de-escalate a situation,” Martinez said, though he did not say more about the officers’ actions.

Police did not release the names or ages of the man or the stabbing victim, who died at a hospital. They also didn’t identify the officers.

Martinez said the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department expects to release more information within the next several days.