By Police1 Staff
LAS VEGAS — Police fatally shot a man hiding in a closet after he lunged at officers with an 8-inch butcher knife.
Officers responded to a domestic violence call Tuesday, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported. A woman with a 4-year-old answered after police spent nearly 10 minutes knocking on the apartment door. Assistant Sheriff Tim Kelly said the woman had visible injuries from a fight, but told officers there was no one else in the apartment.
Based on the 911 call, officers suspected a man was inside and began a search of the residence. Video shows the officers searching in the dark with flashlights until they discovered Pedro Ramirez, 28, hiding behind clothes in a closet.
Police told Ramirez to drop the knife multiple times and deployed their TASERs, which had no effect. Ramirez was fatally shot by Officer Kyle Prior when he lunged at the officers with the knife. He was pronounced dead at the hospital.
The woman told police Ramirez was hiding because he didn’t want to go to jail. Kelly said the police department has responded to two previous domestic incidents involving Ramirez.
Per department policy, Prior has been placed on paid administrative leave pending an investigation.