Man told 911 operator he was ‘ready to die’ before police shot him in Las Vegas: Police

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — A man shot by Las Vegas police threatened a woman and told 911 dispatchers he was “ready to die” when officers arrived, Metro Police said Tuesday.

On June 8 at around 11:10 p.m., Metro dispatch received a report of a domestic altercation in the 5000 block of East Craig Road near Nellis Boulevard. Police said the suspect, identified as Maurice Smith, 43, called 911 and said he was near death when police arrived. In the background of the call, dispatchers could hear a woman screaming that she had been hit with a wrench and that Smith was armed with a knife.

When officers arrived, they found Smith inside an apartment with the door open. He had the woman in a chokehold with one arm and was holding what appeared to be a knife in his other hand. The woman was able to break free from Smith, and an officer drew his low-caliber shotgun and fired four shots. None of the shots hit Smith, police said.

Smith then came out of the apartment with the victim still in his arms. After several minutes of officers trying to get Smith to put down the gun, Smith told officers he was going to take the woman into the apartment and kill her, police said.

Officers then rushed to the apartment, broke a window and saw Smith still armed and lying on the floor next to the victim.

As Smith attempted to stab the victim in the neck with a two-pronged serving fork, officers Alfredo Chavez, 23, and Cruz Littlefield, 24, shot Smith, hitting him multiple times, police said.

While the shooting was being investigated, both officers Chavez and Littlefield were placed on paid administrative leave, as is customary in any police-involved shooting.

The victim was rescued and taken to a local hospital where he is recovering.

Smith was also taken to a local hospital, where he was later pronounced dead. Had Smith survived, he would have been charged with attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon and kidnapping, according to police.