Las Vegas Hotel and Casino Hoax Bomber Arrested

A man walked into the Arizona Charlie’s Hotel and Casino on Saturday claiming to have a bomb strapped to his chest. This caused the evacuation of the building for about 2 hours, as well as the closure of Boulder Highway, which is just outside the casino, before the threat was found to be a hoax and the man was arrested. The name of the white male with gray hair was never released.

Sergeant John Sheahan explained what happened. He said that the man walked into the hotel and casino around 9:40am and approached the security podium in the casino area. He lifted his shirt in front of a female guard, who saw what she thought was a bomb around his chest. He then told her to evacuate the building in 5 minutes before he blew it up. He was convinced to wait outside while they vacated the area.

Sheahan continued that officers handcuffed the man on the north side of the building, but they backed away after seeing the device around his chest. The Las Vegas Fire Department’s bomb squad and a SWAT team arrived at the scene and surrounded the man. SWAT negotiators talked with the man, who kept telling them to shoot him or he would blow everyone up.

When it was found by the negotiators that the bomb was a fake, they talked him into giving up, Sheahan added. This was around 11:45am, after which customers were allowed back into the building and business returned to normal. The Sergeant didn’t know what charges the man would be facing, but that the could be charged for breaking federal laws for his actions, which police believe were an attempt to commit suicide by cop.