It was a stressful weekend for tourists staying at the Bellagio Hotel. It all started Friday night when it was reported that three men burglarized the Tesorini Rolex store at Bellagio. It is located near the front desk and conservatory area of the resort.
There were reports of an active shooter at Bellagio. This caused chaos within the resort on a busy Friday night. Gamblers fled the casino floor and guests trying to check into rooms raced to the exits. Many in the crowd retreated onto the Las Vegas Strip on the other side of the lake at Bellagio.
The reports of an active shooter were erroneous. The sounds panicked Bellagio guests heard were likely sledgehammers or similar devices used by the burglars to smash jewelry cases in the Rolex store, according to numerous reports.
One burglar was caught on camera wearing a pig mask to conceal his identity. The photographer, a guest at Bellagio at the time, tweeted the image at the time of the crime. It was retweeted more than 3,400 times.
Literally just witnessed an armed robber in a pig mask at a Rolex store at the Bellagio & then his arrest #bellagio #vegas #rolex #robbery pic.twitter.com/m53T6bHS2z
— K (@0pp1las) March 25, 2017
The Las Vegas Sun reported that three men tried to escape to their vehicle located in the Bellagio parking deck. Their car would not start so they attempted a carjacking, which was unsuccessful. The report stated that several men were detained.
Double Shooting on Public Bus
There was a double shooting on an RTC bus about 12 hours after the Rolex store robbery at Bellagio. A man opened fire on the bus around 11 am in front of the Bellagio. The shooting appeared to be random, according to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police. The bus stopped between the entrances of Bellagio and Cosmopolitan. The driver and all passengers, except for the gunman, left the bus.
Two men were taken to University Medical Center. One man died. The other is expected to survive with a stomach wound.
The gunman remained on the bus for more than four hours. The SWAT team arrived shortly after the crime was reported to police.
Las Vegas Boulevard was closed between Flamingo Road and Tropicana Avenue. Guests at neighboring hotels, including Bellagio, Cosmopolitan, Paris Las Vegas and Planet Hollywood, could not access the Strip and were forced to use back entrances or remain in their rooms.
The gunman was convinced to leave the bus by negotiators around 3:30pm without any further incidents. He was arrested immediately.
A Las Vegas Metropolitan Police spokesman said that the gunman appeared to be suffering from mental issues. The gunman is a Las Vegas resident. It is not believed to be related to any terrorist organization.
Las Vegas Boulevard remained closed for about an hour after the incident ended. This gave police investigators time to process the crime scene.
