Married white supremacist couple yelled 'this is a revolution' as they shot dead two cops eating pizza and a female bystander, then draped the bodies in 'Don't Tread On Me' flags before suicide pact
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2652306/BREAKING-As-five-people-feared-dead-Las-Vegas-shooting.html
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A husband and wife in their late 20s stormed a North Las Vegas pizzeria on Sunday morning and shot dead two police officers, one in the head
They then ran to a Walmart where they shot a woman dead before taking their own lives in a suicide pact
The killed police officers have been identified as dad-of-three Alyn Beck, 41, and Igor Soldo, 31, who had a newborn baby
White supremacist paraphernalia including swastikas was found in the young couple's apartment during a raid after the shooting
Neighbors described the pair as methamphetamine users obsessed with conspiracy theories
The couple openly talked about killing police and going underground before emerging 'when the time is right,' said another neighbor
By Ryan Gorman
Published: 16:01 EST, 8 June 2014 | Updated: 07:38 EST, 9 June 2014
A married white supremacist couple gunned down two Las Vegas police officers on Sunday, draped one of their bodies in a revolutionary flag and shot a civilian before killing themselves.
The husband and wife, identified by neighbors as 'Jared' and 'Amanda' and in their late 20s, stormed a Cici's Pizza on the northeastern edge of the gambling mecca just before 11.30am Sunday and killed the cops as they ate lunch.
The shooters then ransacked the dying cops' bodies for ammunition and weapons before covering them with the famous 'Don't Tread On Me' flag from the American Revolutionary war.
The two officers have been identified as Alyn Beck, a 41-year-old father-of-three who had worked at the department for 13 years, and 31-year-old Igor Soldo, who had been on the force since 2006 and had a newborn baby, authorities said.
Neighbors said the couple openly obsessed over conspiracy theories and wanting to murder police officers in the weeks before Sunday's attack.
Dead in the line of duty: Officers Alyn Beck (left) and Igor Soldo (right) were killed Sunday morning by male and female shooters while eating lunch
This flag was draped over the dead officer's body: Known as the Gadsden Flag, this symbol of defiance dating back to the American Revolutionary War was used to cover the slain officer
This flag was draped over the dead officer's body: Known as the Gadsden Flag, this symbol of defiance dating back to the American Revolutionary War was used to cover the slain officer
'They were going to kill as many officers as they can and then do away with themselves,' neighbor Krista Koch told ABC. 'They said they didn't believe in the government, the cops, the feds - anything - and they just wanted to get rid of as many as they can.'
Both police officers were shot in the head at point blank range by the suspects while eating pizza on their lunch break, a witness told KLAS. They were not even on duty.
The duo then reportedly shouted at the horrified diners to 'tell the police the revolution has begun,' as they fled the restaurant for a nearby Walmart and callously bragged to a bystander in the parking lot they had just killed two police officers.
'He just told me to tell the cops that it was a revolution and they had killed two cops across the street at Cici's,' a witness said.
Of the two assailants then shot a woman dead just inside the doorway to the store.
A shootout with SWAT officers then ensued before the female suspect shot her husband and then killed herself, according to police.
'They said they didn't believe in the government, the cops, the feds - anything - and they just wanted to get rid of as many as they can'
The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported early Monday morning that the shooters are believed by police to be white supremacists.
Witnesses described the male to the Las Vegas Sun as white, with a scruffy beard and wearing a blue shirt, jeans and a hat. No description was available for the female suspect.
A raid late on Sunday night of the pair's apartment on the outskirts of town uncovered more white supremacist literature, according to the paper.
Krista Koch, a resident of the complex, told the paper the suspected shooter was 'militant' and obsessed with conspiracy theories to the point he often talked about them.
Horror scene: A Metro police officer is shown crying while leaning on a squad car outside the Walmart
Horror scene: A Metro police officer is shown crying while leaning on a squad car outside the Walmart
Commandos: Las Vegas police officers in SWAT gear walk near the scene of the shooting
Commandos: Las Vegas police officers in SWAT gear walk near the scene of the shooting
Cordoned off: An officer maintains the rope line while another patrols the parking lot with an assault rifle
Cordoned off: An officer maintains the rope line while another patrols the parking lot with an assault rifle
Sorrow and relief: Walmart employees hug outside their store after the terrifying shootings and ensuing standoff were brought to an end
Sorrow and relief: Walmart employees hug outside their store after the terrifying shootings and ensuing standoff were brought to an end
Jared claimed to have been booted from Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy's property at the end of the standoff there earlier this year, Monroe added.
The couple openly ranted about killing police officers, 'going underground' and not emerging 'until the time was right, she added.
Another resident, Brandon Monroe, told the paper the suspected shooter often wore army fatigues and dressed as Peter Pan to earn money entertaining and taking pictures with children at the Fremont Street Experience, a downtown tourist destination.
He identified the pair as Jared and Amanda, but did not know their last names.
'They were weird people,' Monroe said, adding that he believes the couple used methamphetamines.
Carol Bundy, the rancher's wife, insisted the shooting was not related to the now-infamous standoff in comments to the paper.
'I have not seen or heard anything from the militia and others who have came to our ranch that would, in any way, make me think they had an intent to kill or harm anyone,' she said.
Gillespie was unable to confirm the 'revolution' comments during an afternoon press conference despite Deputy Sheriff Kevin McMahill reporting it as fact earlier in the day, but said squad cars have doubled up from the normal single person patrols to now include two people per cruiser.
'It’s a very, very difficult day… it is truly a tragic day,' Gillespie lamented in prepared remarks.
For added safety, officers who normally work alone will be paired up with another officer for the time being, Gillespie said.
'He just told me to tell the cops that it was a revolution and they had killed two cops'
Sharee Burns told the Sun she was sitting directly behind the officers in the Cici's. She said the male gunman shot Soldo in the head at point blank range and then hovered over him before taking his firearm. He died instantly.
Beck was then shot in the head by the woman, Burns added, but he lived long enough to fire back at the shooters, possibly injuring one of them.
The shooters then covered the officer who died at the scene in the flag, a historical symbol of defiance in the wake of what is viewed as an oppressive government, before darting out.
'I saw it all,' she said while crying into a friends arms.
The officer identified by witnesses as Beck was soon rushed to a nearby hospital and pronounced dead while in emergency surgery.
Press conference: Sheriff Doug Gillespie confirmed the names of both officers killed during an afternoon press conference, and called Sunday 'a truly tragic day'
Press conference: Sheriff Doug Gillespie confirmed the names of both officers killed during an afternoon press conference, and called Sunday 'a truly tragic day'
Grim task: Clark County Sheriff Doug Gillespie takes questions during a Sunday afternoon news conference
Grim task: Clark County Sheriff Doug Gillespie takes questions during a Sunday afternoon news conference
Both were patrolmen, and Beck also taught advanced skills the police academy, according to the Review-Journal.
Both officers had families that woke up this morning with a father and a husband but will now go to sleep widowed and fatherless.
'They’re both family men, and they’re leaving behind loved ones,' said Gillespie. '[The families] are devastated, in a moment’s notice they lost their loved one.'
Soldo was described as a good father and a 'great guy' by his sister-in-law, Colleen Soldo of Beatrice, Nebraska. She said he attended high school in Lincoln, Nebraska, and previously worked as a corrections officer.
The civilian shot dead by the pair is believed to have been carrying a concealed firearm and had opened fire on them as they ran into the Walmart, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
Police would not confirm if the civilian was armed.
Where it began: The Cici's Pizza where the two officers were shot, one in the head, as they ate lunch
Where it began: The Cici's Pizza where the two officers were shot, one in the head, as they ate lunch
Shooting: Metro Police officers are shown outside a Walmart after a shooting in Las Vegas June 8, 2014
Shooting: Metro Police officers are shown outside a Walmart after a shooting in Las Vegas June 8, 2014
The shooters were not done terrorizing. They fired several shots into the air while screaming for people to leave, witnesses and police sources told KSNV.
Horrified shoppers fled the packed store, there were 'literally a thousand' witnesses to the shooting, McMahill said during an earlier press conference.
'The families are devastated - in a moment's notice they lost their loved one'
Sheriff Doug Gillespie
'We saw when the man was walking, he was shouting, yelling bad words, and suddenly he had a gun,' Pauline Pacheco, who was shopping at the Walmart, told KLAS. 'It was terrible, it was terrible. That man was crazy.'
Another woman told the station she dropped to the ground and texted 'I love you' to a family member as one of the gunmen walked within feet of her and screaming that they wanted a shootout with the police.
A grandmother in the store with her granddaughters when the shooters ran inside told the paper she hid behind a makeup aisle and prayed while waiting for them to pass before the three of them bolted through the front door to safety.
Crime scene: Police flooded the Walmart as the assailants holed themselves up inside just before noon and remained there as the sun went down
Crime scene: Police flooded the Walmart as the assailants holed themselves up inside just before noon and remained there as the sun went down
Ready to move: Las Vegas police officers prepare to go towards the Walmart shooting scene
Ready to move: Las Vegas police officers prepare to go towards the Walmart shooting scene
Sad embrace: Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department officers hug near the Wal-Mart
Sad embrace: Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department officers hug near the Wal-Mart
Jesus Bustamante, 26, told the Sun he was in the store's electronics section when he heard a 'muzzled' sound and people began yelling 'it's a shooting!'
A Metro officer ran past him and shouted 'get the f*** out of here!' He recalled to the paper.
The two suspects then exchanged about 20 shots with SWAT officers, witnesses told the station. It is not clear if they were injured in the exchange.
The standoff ended with the pair making good on their 'suicide pact,' police said.
Authorities have not confirmed what was in the bags, but a bomb squad was called to the scene as a precaution.
Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval said: 'I am devastated by the news today of two officers and an innocent bystander who were murdered in an act of senseless violence. My thoughts and prayers go out to the victims and their families.'
On the scene: Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department officers walk under police tape just in front of the Walmart
On the scene: Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department officers walk under police tape just in front of the Walmart
Just outside: Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department officers stand near Walmart employees in front of the store
Just outside: Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department officers stand near Walmart employees in front of the store
Home base: The grim apartment complex where the suspected shooters lived - a small explosion reportedly occurred as officers raided the home late Sunday night
Home base: The grim apartment complex where the suspected shooters lived - a small explosion reportedly occurred as officers raided the home late Sunday night
Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman issued a statement of her own.
'This was a senseless and cruel act killing three innocent people, two who dedicated their lives to protecting all of us in our community and one who was innocently going about her daily life.
'Their resolve was greater than ever to serve our community with loyalty, dedication and to honor the memory of their two comrades and friends.'
Senator Harry Reid also weighed in, saying: 'I am terribly saddened by today's senseless shooting in the Las Vegas valley.
'Metro Police officers do all they can to protect our residents and the millions of tourists who visit the region,' Reid continued. 'This is a tragedy for all affected, including the Metro Police Department and the families of those killed.'
Walmart has released a statement to KTNV regarding the incident.
'We express our deepest condolences to everyone who have been affected by this senseless act of violence. Our store is currently closed. This is still an active investigation and we are working with local police.'
The investigation remains ongoing.
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