Las Vegas Alleged Hotel Shooter Faces Several Charges, Two Injured

Posted on: August 23, 2022, 10:33h. 

Last updated on: August 24, 2022, 02:00h.

An ex-convict was arrested last week for shooting two victims during a struggle at the Alexis Park Resort in Las Vegas. The May incident left one man paralyzed and a woman with leg wounds.

Kristopher Gonzales
Kristopher Gonzales in a mug shot. He was arrested for allegedly shooting two people at a Las Vegas hotel. (Image: LVMPD)

Kristopher Gonzales, 26, of Las Vegas, was charged in Las Vegas Justice Court for the May 15 shootings. His counts include attempted murder and battery, each with the use of a deadly weapon, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

He was also charged with being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm. That charge stems from when he was convicted in 2016 of conspiracy to commit robbery, the report said. That earlier incident took place in Clark County.

Gonzales remained in custody in Clark County Detention Center as of Tuesday. He was booked on Aug. 15. He is scheduled to next appear in Las Vegas court on Sept. 1.

The May shootings occurred in a dispute involving many people at the East Harmon Avenue property. The situation escalated, and it appears Gonzales pulled out a firearm.

Struggle Over Firearm

The gun discharged during the struggle over the weapon, leading to the injuries, police said. The incident occurred at the hotel’s pool.

“Gonzales admitted to pulling a gun and shooting the victims as he struggled to maintain possession of the firearm,” a Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) arrest report and the Review-Journal reported.

Initially, Gonzales claimed he was being charged at by 20 people prior to the shooting,” a LVMPD detective said in the arrest report. “I showed Gonzales a clip of video that was taken from a cellphone camera during the incident.”

Gonzales told LVMPD officers, ‘Things got out of hand.’”

Before making the arrest, officers reviewed videos from various sources and also took statements from witnesses.

Alexis Park Resort is a non-gaming hotel. It is located about a mile from the Las Vegas Strip. Nearby are several casinos, such as Planet Hollywood, Paris Las Vegas, and The Cosmopolitan.

Prior Shooting on Strip

The Strip has seen several recent shootings. For instance, earlier this month, one person was killed and two others critically injured during a shooting in a room at The Mirage hotel.

Billy Deray Hemsley, 54, of Las Vegas, was charged with murder and two counts of attempted murder for the incident.

Aucturius Dwyane Milner, 49, was fatally shot in a room on the eighth floor at The Mirage. Milner and Hemsley were “play fighting” when Hemsley allegedly produced a firearm and shot Milner multiple times, LVMPD reports said. Hemsley claims the victim, a cousin, was choking him at the time.

The two women, identified as Milner’s daughter and her friend, also were shot in the room at The Mirage, KLAS, a local TV station, said. Milner’s daughter was shot 15 times. Both were taken to University Medical Center (UMC) for treatment.

Downtown Homicide

Other shootings have taken place recently in downtown Las Vegas. One person was shot dead in June, and another was wounded at the Fremont Street Experience. The downtown Las Vegas incident was linked to a dispute in a nearby casino, the LVMPD said.

One victim, Raymond Renova, passed away at the hospital soon after arriving. The second victim underwent treatment. The surviving victim was described as an “innocent bystander” by KSNV, another local TV station. A teenage suspect, Ruben Robles, was arrested for the shootings.