Security Officer, Employee Dead in Apparent Murder-Suicide at Las Vegas Casino

Posted on: March 10, 2021, 06:29h. 

Last updated on: March 11, 2021, 03:08h.

Larry Henry Read More

Expertise: Commercial Gaming, Gaming Business, Legislation, Politics, Regulation.

A Wynn Las Vegas security officer and an employee of the hotel-casino are dead in what police say was an apparent murder-suicide in a parking garage at the Strip location on Tuesday.

An employee who had not been at work or called in for two days used his company badge to enter the employee garage Tuesday, police said. Use of the “proxy” card alerted security that the employee was on the site. A security officer who went to check on him was shot multiple times, said Lt. Ray Spencer of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. Police were called to the scene at about 5:45 pm.

The employee was seated in his car when he shot the security officer. The officer was standing at the car door, Spencer said in a news conference Tuesday night. The officer was pronounced dead at the scene.

After shooting the security officer, the employee got out of his car and shot himself once, Spencer said. He also was pronounced dead at the scene.

Spencer said the families of both men were notified Tuesday night. The security guard has been identified as Yoseph Almonte, 31, of Las Vegas. The employee was Reggie Tagget, 42, also of Las Vegas, authorities said.

Police do not believe there was any link between the security officer and employee, Spencer said. Police did not know why the employee shot the officer.

We have no idea what led him to take the actions that he took today,” Spencer said.

The shooting occurred in a remote area on the fifth floor of the secure employee parking garage. No one else was nearby. A woman working at the hotel-casino had gone with the security officer to check on the matter. She was not at the car when the shooting took place, Spencer said.

Isolated Workplace Shooting

At the news conference, a reporter asked Spencer about the police department’s response on Tuesday, in light of a mass shooting on the Strip several years ago.

On Oct. 1, 2017, a gunman firing from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino killed 59 people and wounded more than 850 others. Mandalay Bay is at the southwestern end of the Strip. The victims were attending the Route 91 Harvest outdoor music concert across the Strip near the Tropicana Las Vegas.

The combined city-county police department, known locally as Metro, responds to calls throughout Clark County. Much of the Strip, including where Wynn Las Vegas is located, is outside city limits.

“As far as Metro,” Spencer said, “anything that happens, we’re going to bring as many resources as we need to bring to make sure the citizens and tourists in this valley are safe.”

‘Deeply Saddened’

Wynn CEO Matt Maddox issued a statement Tuesday regarding the incident.

“We are deeply saddened by the tragic incident that occurred this evening,” he said. “We have reached out to the families of our two employees to offer our condolences and assistance during this difficult time.”

Wynn Las Vegas opened in 2005 under the direction of casino developer Steve Wynn. It is part of a complex that includes the adjoining Encore at Wynn Las Vegas on the east side of the Strip. The resorts were built at the site of the now-demolished Desert Inn.