California murder suspect recaptured after massive manhunt
More than 200 law enforcement officers were involved in the hunt for Eric Abril, authorities said.
LEARN MOREPosted: 6:21 p.m. EDT Jul 11, 2023
Police said a SWAT team made entry into a room at Caesars Palace Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas on Tuesday afternoon and arrested a man suspected of holding a woman hostage "by force" in a room on one of the upper floors for hours.
Police said the woman was found in the room safe, and is with police.
Police and emergency crews were called to the hotel responding to a domestic disturbance. A man had barricaded himself in a hotel room and said he had a weapon, according to Scripps News Las Vegas.
The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said reports came in at around 9:15 a.m. local time on Tuesday of a domestic disturbance at the hotel. Police said a man pulled a woman into a hotel room "by force."
The man reportedly refused to open the door and said he was armed.
Police said a SWAT team was dispatched to the area around the hotel room.
No shots were reportedly fired in the hours that police worked to gain access to the room.
The floor of the hotel where the man and woman were barricaded was locked down by 12 p.m., and no weapons were confirmed inside the room. Police said it was "unclear if weapons are involved."
Police said they were able to make contact with her, and said she was OK. It was still unclear by Tuesday afternoon if the two previously knew each other in any way.
Emma Snyder of Appleton, Wisconsin shared video with Scripps News Las Vegas showing the pool area of the hotel as it was evacuated.
A hole could be seen from street level in one of the hotel's windows, which appeared to have been broken and partially knocked out. Police said the man, presumed to be armed, was throwing objects out of the broken window and onto the pool area below, including what appeared to be various pieces of furniture from the room.
A guest visiting Caesars Palace from Appleton, Wisconsin shared this video with Channel 13 showing the pool area being evacuated. She said it also looked like a window had been knocked out.
— KTNV 13 Las Vegas (@KTNV) July 11, 2023
[🎥: Emma Snyder]
READ MORE: https://t.co/UxLzcfKIEL pic.twitter.com/xbYbO7KO3X
Caesars Palace released a statement saying they were "aware of the security incident" and said the hotel's team was "cooperating fully with law enforcement officers on-scene."
Police asked people to avoid the area and to be careful around the multiple emergency vehicles in the area.
Hotel guests, including in the pool area, were evacuated while police continued to try to negotiate with the man inside.
A hotel employee reported that the hostage was taken on the 21st floor.
Some guests in the hotel said other floors were not evacuated, and at least some guests reported that their movements were not restricted in some parts of the hotel. Guests in the pool area said they reported seeing large objects falling from a broken window of a room in the hotel. One guest told the Associated Press, "When we saw the window shatter it was kind of a surreal feeling, it got pretty scary."
"We were told to gather our stuff and rush out the back," the guest said. Reports said at least one television, multiple chairs and other objects could be seen falling from a window.
Police reported that there had been no immediate reports of injuries to anyone outside of the room where the hostage negotiators were focused. Hotel housekeeping staff were reportedly still working to maintain guest rooms in various parts of the hotel as police worked for hours to resolve the hostage situation.
