According to a friend, some of the victims of the massive shooting at Reno Casino on Monday were Southern California residents attending independent parties.
The violence began at 7:30am. Police say an unidentified gunman walked through the parking lot from the north and appeared in the Barret area of Grand Sierra Resort. There he met a group visited from Thousand Oaks, friends of the victim told The Times.
Police said the gunman approached the group and tried to film, but the weapon malfunctioned. The group began to scatter just as the man moved his gun again and began shooting.
Two friends who requested anonymity until the victim was officially identified, and Andrew Canepa was attacked several times and died in the hospital. The father of a young son, Kanepa was the owner and server of Side Street Café in Newbury Park, a popular breakfast and lunch restaurant.
Dylan McLean was shot in the shoulder and jumped into a nearby truck and asked the driver to take him to the hospital, a friend told The Times. During the drive he called his friend Matt Harper Sitler, who was shot multiple times and hid from the gunman.
Sitler was hospitalized, listed in danger and placed on life support on Monday. By the evening he was able to breathe himself, his friend told The Times. His first words after the attack were: “Are you okay, Andrew?”
Another friend of the group was shot and killed immediately at the scene, but has not been officially identified.
The group attacked at the casino was a 2010 graduate of High in 2010, with some playing high school sports together.
The group was staying at Airbnb near Lake Tahoe before spending time at the casino on a Sunday night. They woke up early on Monday, checked out the hotel and waited at Barrett station to take them to the airport when the shooters arrived.
Amidst the chaos at the Bullet Station, casino guards responded to the shooter and shot him dead, and ran away and shot him, police said. As he escaped, he encountered a vehicle moving through the parking lot, opening a fire and killing the driver. Soon, police arrived and engaged the suspect in a shootout, seriously injured him.
“Trades like this are horrifying for the community to endure, not just for the victims, the first responders, the people there, but for everyone involved in our community,” said Kathryn Nance, Reno Police Chief. “Violence is unacceptable, especially in our public spaces.”
Three people were killed in the incident and three others were injured along with the gunman. Police said Monday afternoon. The suspect’s identity has not been released yet.
“The motives by the suspect are unknown,” Sparks Police Chief Chris Crawforth said at a press conference.
Grand Sierra Resort is one of the largest hotel and casino complexes in Reno. The 27-storey building features almost 2,000 rooms, a casino, spa and restaurant. Previously, it branded MGM and later branded Barry hotels and resorts. The business was open and operated on Tuesday.
Staff writer Summerlin contributed to this report.
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