A man found before dawn Thursday on the tarmac next to a terminal at McCarran International Airport was shot and wounded by a police officer after the man attacked three officers, authorities said.
Officers encountered the man outside Terminal 1 at about 4 a.m., about 20 minutes after they investigated a report of a person who had gone through a security door at Terminal 3 but did not find anyone there, said police Capt. Nichole Splinter.
The man became “extremely irate” while he was being escorted by the officers to a public area of the airport and attacked them, she said.
A police officer was knocked unconscious as the officers struggled with the man and one of the officers fired two rounds, Splinter said. The wounded man and the officer were taken to a hospital, where the man was undergoing surgery, Splinter said.
The man who was shot was not identified.
Airport spokesman Chris Jones the shooting happened on a tarmac between A and B gates at Terminal 1.
Carriers using that terminal include American Airlines, Allegiant Air, Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines, Spirit Airlines and Contour Airlines.
