LAS VEGAS — An officer has been shot in Las Vegas and authorities are responding to another shooting as people protest the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, authorities said.
The officer was shot in the area of the Las Vegas Strip and an officer was involved in a shooting in the downtown area, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department reported early Tuesday.
The department said both shootings were on Las Vegas Boulevard.
Protests erupted throughout the country for several days after Floyd, a black man, was killed by former Officer Derek Chauvin, who is white, and has since been arrested and charged.
In a widely circulated cellphone video of the Minneapolis incident, Floyd can be seen on the ground with his hands cuffed behind his back while Officer Chauvin presses him to the pavement with his knee on Floyd's neck. The video shows Chauvin holding Floyd down for minutes as Floyd complains he can't breathe.
Bystanders can be heard begging the officer to take his knee off Floyd's neck. The video ends with paramedics lifting a limp Floyd onto a stretcher and placing him in an ambulance.
Chauvin was charged on Friday with third degree murder, but they are continuing to review the evidence, and there may be subsequent charges later. He was also charged with second degree manslaughter.
Police in Las Vegas said Monday that 338 people were arrested during three nights of protests. Officers used tear gas and pepper balls to disperse crowds late Saturday downtown and Sunday on the Las Vegas Strip.
Police said suspects were jailed despite a local court policy calling for most people accused of misdemeanor crimes to receive court summonses instead of time behind bars to help prevent the spread of the new coronavirus.
