Shooters kill 2 cops, 1 civilian during Las Vegas shooting rampage

USPA News - Two police officers and a civilian were killed on Sunday when two shooters - a man and a woman - opened fire at a pizza restaurant and a nearby store, shouting "this is the start of a revolution!" before both suspects died in an apparent suicide pact, officials said. The incident began at approximately 11:22 a.m. local time on Sunday when the suspects entered a CiCi`s Pizza in Las Vegas while two police officers were having lunch.

"Our preliminary investigation shows that both officers were shot. However, one officer was able to fire back," said Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) Sheriff Doug Gillespie. After the shooting, the suspects fled the pizza restaurant and ran across a parking lot to a nearby Walmart store, where they again opened fire just minutes later. "Upon entering the front doors of the store, the suspects shot and killed a citizen and made their way to the rear of the store," an LVMPD spokesperson said. The first call of shots fired at the Walmart store came in at 11:27 a.m. and two teams of patrol officers were the first to arrive at the scene, where shots were still being fired. "Our officers entered the front and back of the Walmart store," Gillespie said. "Our officers did come into contact with suspects, at which time gunfire took place between the officers and the suspects." After the exchange of fire between the suspects and the officers, additional shots were heard as the suspects carried out a suspected suicide pact. "Preliminary it appears, the female suspect shot the male suspect, then took her own life," the sheriff said at a news conference. Few details about the motive for the killings were known, but witnesses told investigators that they heard the suspects shout "This is the start of a revolution!" after they shot the police officers. Las Vegas newspapers reported on Monday that the suspects may have been white supremacists, with neighbors describing the couple as racist and anti-government. "What precipitated this event, we do not know. My officers were simply having lunch when the shooting started," the sheriff said. He said the department was doubling up one-person patrols for the time being until investigators were able to determine whether the suspects were working alone or as part of a group. The officers killed in the shooting rampage were identified as 41-year-old officer Alyn Beck and 31-year-old officer Igor Soldo. Beck had been employed with the LVMPD since August 2001 and leaves behind a wife and three children. Soldo had been with the department since April 2006 and leaves behind a wife and baby. The Clark County Coroner identified the civilian who died in the shootings as 31-year-old Joseph Robert Wilcox. "We have lost two officers with young families, and a family of law enforcement who cares very, very much about them, as well as a community that cares very, very much about them as well as the innocent citizen that lost their life," Gillespie said. "I say to the community, and I say to my officers: It`s a tragic day, it`s a very, very difficult day. But we still have a community to police, and we still have a community to protect. We will be out there, doing it with our heads held high, but an emptiness in our hearts." Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman also expressed her shock at Sunday`s shootings, calling it a "senseless and cruel act" that left three innocent people dead. "I immediately asked that flags at city facilities be lowered to half staff in remembrance of the officers and the innocent [man] also tragically shot," she said. Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval said his thoughts and prayers went out to the victims and their families. "I am devastated by the news today of two officers and an innocent bystander who were murdered in an act of senseless violence," he said. "I am receiving regular updates with regard to this tragedy and local and state law enforcement are assisting at the scene."