An anonymous 911 caller told a dispatcher Monday there was knife-toting, bloodied man in northeast Las Vegas who was "trying to hurt himself or somebody." The man said, “I think he’s going crazy,” according to a recording broadcast Wednesday by Assistant Sheriff Brett Zimmerman.
Metro Police Officer Vidal Contreras, 30, arrived at a desert lot near Lamb Boulevard and Carey Avenue about noon and found the man, who was holding a box cutter.
As Seth Greenstone, 31, ignored Contreras and advanced toward him, the officer fired two rounds.
Zimmerman said that Greenstone had called 911 on himself, though he stopped short of calling it an attempted suicide by cop.
Greenstone, who was initially in critical condition, has since been stabilized at University Medical Center, said Zimmerman, adding that he’s facing a count each of assault on an officer and resisting police with a deadly weapon.
Zimmerman shared few details about Greenstone but said that he had borrowed the box cutter from a co-worker at their nearby job and left. Evidence suggests he cut himself with it.
Soon, he called 911, prompting Metro to implement their STAR protocol, which requires a supervisor and additional officers to respond.
Contreras, who was first to spot Greenstone, was the only officer at the shooting scene.
Contreras’ body camera captured him pulling up, exiting his patrol SUV, and instructing Greenstone to “drop the (expletive) knife,” but the suspect continued advancing toward the officer.
The video did not show the actual shooting.