Anthony Wrobel, an employee at the Venetian casino hotel in Las Vegas, is accused of shooting a Venetian executive to death in a targeted attack at a company picnic that also wounded another worker.
“We have identified a suspect in the shooting, who is a 42-year-old male,” Metropolitan Police Department Lt. Ray Spencer said in a press conference, naming Wrobel. Police have not yet released a motive for the attack, other than labeling it a case of workplace violence. However, the suspect had struggled with financial problems in recent years.
Wrobel was arrested in Texas, authorities announced on April 18, 2018.
CAPTURED! Anthony Wrobel was arrested without incident near Vega, Texas earlier this morning by Texas law enforcement. We will be releasing further information later today. #LVMPDnews
He’s accused of shooting Sands Corporation Executive Mia Banks to death and injuring Hector Rodriguez, “the Sands Corporation Executive Director of table games,” according to News3LV.
Police released new photos of Wrobel on April 16, 2018:
PRESS RELEASE: LVMPD Searching for Suspect Who Killed One Person Injured Another at Company Picnic – 3 photos of suspect Anthony Wrobel included. #LVMPDnews t.co/jOuVrskgBV #wanted
Here’s what you need to know:
1. Anthony Wrobel Worked as a Casino Dealer at the Venetian & Once Declared Bankruptcy
Spencer said that Wrobel was an employee at the Venetian Las Vegas Hotel and Casino. “This event…out here tonight was a picnic involving employees of the Venetian,” the police spokesman said.
Although police did not identify Wrobel’s job, a 2010 federal bankruptcy filing in his name states that he was a casino dealer at the Venetian, a position he had held for seven years at that time.
His average monthly income was listed as just over $2,900 a month in that filing, which listed minimal assets, although he did have a home mortgage. He had liabilities totaling more than $300,000 at that time, including some credit card debt. A man who said a relative of his works at the casino wrote on Facebook of Wrobel, “He was a former dealer in the casino,” which is information that matches the occupation listed in the bankruptcy documents.
Police said that Wrobel was described as a “disgruntled” current employee of the Venetian, where he had worked for 14 years.
2. Wrobel Is Accused of Shooting the Victims as They Sat at a Picnic Table
Police accuse Wrobel of strolling up to the victims as they sat at a picnic table in a gazebo area at a company gathering in Sunset Park. “Those employees were having a picnic when the suspect arrived on scene and walked up to a picnic table where several hotel executives were at,” the spokesman said. “There was a female in her mid 50s who he walked up to. At that point he shot that female who was deceased…he also then targeted another male employee who was at that table.” That female was named as Mia Banks.
Journalist Blake Apgar reported on Twitter that several employees of the Venetian, a strip hotel, were at the picnic gathering when the shooting occurred.
One woman described on Facebook how she was in the park when the shooting broke out. “My husband and I had just gotten to Sunset Park and were getting ready to walk our dogs when we heard the gunshots a few dozen yards away. We hoped they were firecrackers but feared the worst when we heard Metro’s sirens about 45 seconds later,” she wrote. “So sad.”
3. A Co-Worker Alleges That Wrobel Was Upset Because Casino Dealers Were Making Less Money
Detectives seek assistance in locating homicide suspect Anthony Wrobel, 42 years of age, 5’9″ approx 197 pounds.
Wrobel is considered ARMED & DANGEROUS.
Anyone with info please call 702-828-3521 or @CrimeStoppersNV at 702-385-5555. #wanted
Another employee told Fox5Vegas that Wrobel’s identity did not surprise them, saying, “Tony was the person, we were reflecting on it, he’s just like, what everyone was saying about the Parkland shooter, we all knew he was crazy. It wasn’t a matter of if he would, it was when.”
The employee said Wrobel was angry because casino dealers were making less money, telling the television station that “The dealers, we used to make $30,000 more per year and he felt like with all of the decisions that management made, upper management, that that was the reason why we no longer made the money we made.”
In a tweet, police said, “Detectives seek assistance in locating homicide suspect Anthony Wrobel, 42 years of age, 5’9″ approx 197 pounds. Wrobel is considered ARMED & DANGEROUS. Anyone with info please call 702-828-3521 or @CrimeStoppersNV at 702-385-5555. #wanted.”
According to 3 News, the shooting occurred at a park near Eastern Avenue and Warm Springs Road. “The call was reported around 6:00 p.m. on Sunday,” the television station reported.
4. One Victim Survived the Attack, Which Police Call an Act of ‘Workplace Violence’
UPDATE: Metro says there was a company party at Sunset Park for employees of a Strip hotel. The shooter is said to be an employee who targeted two other employees at the party—a woman and a man. Woman was killed. Shooter at large but officers believe they have his identity. #8NN
The male victim is in critical condition and was transported to the hospital. Neither victim has been named, and their positions at the casino were not yet confirmed.
“This is an isolated incident. This is an act of workplace violence. The individuals at the table were the targets of the shooter,” Spencer said. However, Wrobel was at large in the hours immediately following the double shooting.
“I do know he was an employee at the hotel,” said the police spokesman, who alleged that Wrobel had “targeted the individuals at the table.”
5. Police Located Wrobel’s Vehicle at the Las Vegas Airport
Police say that Wrobel is on the run, and they weren’t sure where he was at. “We are actively tracking him currently now to try to find his location,” according to Spencer.
One of the victims was an executive at the hotel, and the other was an employee at the hotel, authorities said. Police would not say whether the executive was the female or the male victim. Police released a photograph of Wrobel and said they have located the suspect’s vehicle, but he was not in it. They aren’t sure what type of vehicle he is in now, and they said that his vehicle was recovered at the las Vegas airport. The vehicle was a black and purple Dodge Charger.
Online records show that Wrobel also has ties to Illinois but has been in Las Vegas since at least 2003.
This article will be updated as more information is learned about Wrobel.