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Jul. 10, 2007
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

CASINO SHOOTING: Suspect held off, police say

Report: Presence of children delayed plan to open fire

By BRIAN HAYNES
REVIEW-JOURNAL

Steve Zegrean
51-year-old wanted to provoke "suicide by cop,:" police report says

Armed with a semiautomatic handgun, at least five loaded magazines and dozens of extra cartridges, Steven Zegrean walked into New York-New York on Thursday night prepared to open fire, police said.

The 51-year-old, depressed and suicidal after losing his job, hoped to spark a violent confrontation with authorities and commit "suicide by cop," police said. But as he surveyed the casino from a second-floor mezzanine, police said, Zegrean put his plan on hold: There were too many children.

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Zegrean retreated to a casino food court and waited about two hours until he thought the casino was clear of children, a police report said. Then he returned to the mezzanine, pulled out his gun and squeezed the trigger, police said.

Sixteen bullets rained down on the crowds below, sending panicked patrons running for their lives, ducking behind slot machines and diving under gaming tables.

David James, a 28-year-old Navy reservist and merchant mariner, was on the mezzanine searching for a bite to eat when the gunfire erupted about 12:45 a.m. Friday. James, in town for a friend's bachelor party, stood about 10 feet behind the gunman but thought it was an act.

"I thought it was a Vegas show because Vegas is supposed to be all wild and crazy," said James, who lives in Jacksonville, Fla.

When he heard the empty cartridge cases hit the floor and watched the man reload, James realized it was no show. He ducked for cover while the man turned and headed for the doors leading to the MGM Grand.

"He didn't care what he was shooting or who he was shooting at," James said. "He just wanted to shoot."

As Zegrean walked toward the exit, he pointed the gun at someone lying on the ground then pulled the trigger, but the gun jammed, the police report said. That was when Justin Lampert, a 24-year-old North Dakota National Guardsman, lunged at the gunman, put him in a headlock and wrestled him to the ground.

"If it wasn't for Justin ... he would have shot everybody," James said.

Hearing Lampert's screams for help, James ran over, grabbed the gun and kicked Zegrean in the head, hoping to free Lampert's fingers from his clenched teeth.

James, who described himself as "small dude" at 5 feet 7 inches tall and 160 pounds, called for larger men nearby to help subdue Zegrean, whom he likened to "Grizzly Adams." Bob and Paul Ura, two brothers who work for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, were next to help hold Zegrean until security guards and police arrived to arrest him, authorities said.

Zegrean told investigators he had been depressed for about two months because he lost his job, the report said.

Las Vegas police were called to his house on the Fourth of July because he was suicidal, but the officers left after Zegrean told them he did not want to kill himself, the report said.

But after police drove away, Zegrean armed himself, donned a long cream-colored coat and took a cab to the MGM Grand. He arrived about 11 p.m. and visited New York-New York, Excalibur and Luxor, gambling until he was broke, the report said.

In the early morning hours he bought cigarettes at a gasoline station across from the Luxor and sat outside waiting for nightfall, according to his arrest report.

Police said Monday that Zegrean might have spent part, if not most of the day, wandering the Strip.

It was Thursday, the day when Las Vegas' high temperature tied the city's all-time record of 116 degrees.

"Zegrean said he was wearing a long trench coat so police would stop him and kill him when he pulled the gun out, but he said the police never stopped him," the police report said.

Zegrean returned to New York-New York about 10:30 p.m. Thursday, intending to carry out his plan, but the children forced a delay, police said.

"Zegrean went to the restroom and drank some water from the sink" because he had no money to buy anything to drink, according to the police report.

Then he went back to the food court and waited.

Two hours later, bullets tore through the casino, wounding four people: 23-year-old Carrie Zeravica of North Huntington, Pa.; 13-year-old Troy Sanchez; Fernando Maestas, who turned 30 on July Fourth; and 25-year-old Apryl Jackson. All of the wounds were to arms or legs, the report said.

After the bystanders took Zegrean down, Las Vegas police arrested him and seized his Springfield 9 mm semiautomatic XD9 handgun.

He was scheduled to appear today in Las Vegas Justice Court on multiple counts of attempted murder, battery with a deadly weapon and other charges.

James said he, Lampert and another man who helped them found it odd that no one stopped and questioned Zegrean before he started shooting.

"Thursday was really hot ... and nobody really noticed this guy with a trench coat on?" James said.

MGM Mirage spokeswoman Yvette Monet said Zegrean did nothing to raise suspicions.

"There was nothing suspicious about the suspect's movements or actions that would have merited extra attention," she said.

Las Vegas police Capt. Jim Dillon said Zegrean did nothing suspicious in the minutes before the shooting.

Allen Lichtenstein, a lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada, said clothing alone does not give authorities reason to question people.

"Wearing a trench coat in the middle of summer is not enough to stop someone," he said. "People wear lots of weird outfits on the Strip."

Authorities would need to notice suspicious behavior to justify questioning someone, he said.

Larry Barton, an expert in crisis management and threat assessment at American College in Bryn Mawr, Pa., said casinos must be careful to avoid profiling people, whether that involves race or clothing. The key is whether Zegrean acted strangely before the shooting, he said.

Barton noted the lack of security guard involvement until Zegrean was subdued by civilians. Casino security guards are paid relatively low wages and receive minimal training, which leads to high turnover and lack of experience, he said.

"Casinos have a long way to go and a tall mountain to climb in training security guards," Barton said. "Casinos need to wake up. This hurts branding and creates anxiety in guests."

James continued his vacation before returning home Monday, but he said the incident left him on edge and constantly watching his back. Hotel staff seemed more interested in restoring business as usual than acknowledging the tragedy that had just been averted, he said.

"After the police got everything they needed, they pushed everybody out, and it was just like any other day," James said. "I felt MGM could have handled the whole situation better, at least a thank you."

An MGM Mirage spokesman said Friday that the men would be offered free rooms on a return trip, but James said Monday he had not heard any such offer from the hotel giant.

Monet said hotel management was grateful for the men's actions and would be contacting them.

Like Lampert, James downplayed his actions.

"What we did, I feel like any average citizen would have done," he said. "Are we good Samaritans? Yes. Heroes? I wouldn't call us heroes."