Rolando Cardenas. (Clark County Detention Center)
A 55-year-old man is accused of shooting at fellow passengers on a public bus on the Las Vegas Strip for “no apparent reason” on Saturday, killing one man and wounding another.
Rolando Cardenas was arrested after a stand-off that lasted several hours, the Associated Press reports.
Cardenas stood up and opened fire from the back of the bus as passengers were disembarking near the Cosmopolitan hotel-casino, police said. He fired several rounds from a handgun, according to police.
Gary Breitling, 57, of Sidney, Montana, was killed in the shooting. An unidentified man was hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. Cardenas Surrendered to Police After Barricading Himself on the Bus for About 4 Hours
Rolando Cardenas barricaded himself on the bus after the shooting, the Associated Press reports. He eventually surrendered to police after about four hours, following a standoff that included crisis negotiators and a SWAT team driving an armored vehicle up to the bus.
The shooting happened about 11 a.m. after the bus, operated by the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada, came to a stop on Las Vegas Boulevard. Cardenas was arrested about 3:15 p.m.
“He was on the bus. He was shooting people on the bus. He was just contained to that location. He never exited the bus,” Clark County Assistant Sheriff Tom Roberts said.
The shooting and standoff shut down Las Vegas Boulevard in the area.
Former NBA player Scot Pollard, who was at a nearby hotel, told the Associated Press, “We can hear them negotiating. We can hear them saying things like ‘No one else needs to get hurt,’ ‘Come out with your hands up. We are not going anywhere. We are not leaving.'”
2. He Has Lived in the Las Vegas Area for Several Years & Does Not Appear to Have a Criminal Record
News Alert: 1 dead, 1 injured after shooting on a bus on the Las Vegas strip.
Cardenas, 55, has lived in the Las Vegas area since 2008, KSNV-TV reports. He previously lived in Hawaii, public records show.
He does not appear to have a criminal record, according to KSNV.
Police have not released any other details about the case or other information about Cardenas.
3. Cardenas Is Being Held Without Bail on Charges Including Murder, Attempted Murder & Burglary
Cardenas was charged with murder, attempted murder, burglary while in possession of a gun and discharging a gun within a vehicle, Clark County records show.
He is being held without bail at the Clark County Detention Center, records show.
Cardenas is set to make his first court appearance on Monday. It is not known if he has hired an attorney.
4. A GoFundMe Account Has Been Set Up for the Victim’s Family
Gary Breitling. (Facebook)
A GoFundMe account has been set up to help the family of the victim killed in the shooting, Gary Breitling, a 57-year-old father from Montana. The account was started by a friend of Breitling’s daughter, Lisa Breitling Lara.
“I love you so much dad! My heart breaks,” Lisa Lara wrote on Facebook, along with a photo of her fatehr.
He was on a trip to Las Vegas with his wife, Barbara, who was not injured, KTQV reports. They live together in Sidney.
Gary Breitling and his wife, Barbara. (Facebook)
Breitling was a member of the Sidney High School Class of 1977, according to a post on an alumni Facebook page.
5. The Shooting Came Hours After 3 Men Wearing Pig Masks Broke Into a Jewelry Store at the Bellagio
The shooting was the second incident to create chaos and hotel lockdowns on the Las Vegas Strip over the course of several hours.
In the first incident, at least three men wearing pig masks and carrying sledgehammers smashed their way into a high-end jewelry store at the Bellagio Resort & Casino, CNN reports.
The burglary occurred about 12:50 a.m. Saturday at Tesorini, a Rolex retailer, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports.
The men were wearing “dark, nice suits” or tuxedos, police Lieutenant Carlos Hank told the newspaper. They grabbed several items and stripped off their disguises as they fled, Hank said.
“It is like a movie, it’s just crazy,” Hank told the Review-Journal.
No shots were fired during the incident, though witnesses reported hearing gunfire. Police said it was not an active shooter situation, despite reports to the contrary.
Police said they detained several people for questioning, but have not yet identified any of the burglars.
“We have some people going through the process,” Hank said, “Doing interviews and finding out where they were and what they were doing.”
