Las Vegas Resort Sued Over 2019 Fatal Shooting of Armed Man

The family of an armed man shot and killed by security guards in a suburban Las Vegas casino-resort last year is suing.

The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that the son of 53-year-old Shannon Howell filed a wrongful death lawsuit in late October in Clark County District Court.

Green Valley Ranch Resort in Henderson and four employees are named in the complaint.

Authorities say Howell was walking through the resort on the afternoon of New Year’s Day 2019 when others told security he was carrying a handgun. Police say three security guards confronted Howell, and he drew his weapon. Two of the guards then shot him. Howell received medical care at the casino but later died.

According to the complaint, Dalton Howell says security guards shot his father a combined 23 times but “had no lawful authority to issue commands to Howell.” Furthermore, Dalton Howell alleges his father wasn’t under any legal obligation to obey the guards and didn’t have time to react before being shot.

The younger Howell, who was 18 at the time of the shooting, said his father was never told he couldn’t have a firearm there.

He is asking for damages for false imprisonment, assault, wrongful death and negligence.

A spokesman for Red Rock Resorts, which owns Green Valley Ranch, declined to comment, citing pending litigation.

No criminal charges were ever filed in the shooting.

Carrying a firearm into a casino is legal under Nevada law but the resort prohibited it.