Bodycam: Las Vegas Police Confront Knife-Wielding Man who Killed Wife

By Casey Harrison

Source Las Vegas Sun

A man who fatally stabbed his wife shortly before he was killed by a Metro Police officer last week was seen approaching police with a knife before the cops opened fire at him in his downtown Las Vegas home after he reportedly tried to take his own life, video footage released by the department shows.

The bodycam video, which was shared with reporters Thursday as a follow-up briefing to the July 3 police shooting, showed the moments leading up to the shooting. Officers arrived about 11:15 p.m. to a house in the 600 block of North Bruce Street, and quickly made contact with several people out front claiming their father — Miguel Gallarzo, 46 — has fatally stabbed their mother and was attempting to kill himself, Clark County assistant sheriff Lazaro Chavez said.

"We need help!" the caller told the 9-1-1 dispatcher, in the call audio played during the briefing. "My dad killed my mom. They killed themself (sic) with a knife. Please come fast. ... We think my mom is dead. Please call an ambulance fast."

Bodycam footage shared with reporters showed police escorting what appears to be a young boy out of the house shortly after arriving at the house. A few rooms over, Gallarzo was seen shirtless in a bedroom next to a bloodied and unresponsive body.

As police tried to enter Gallarzo's room, he threw a knife at officers in the doorway, bodycam footage showed. Two officers issued several commands for Gallarzo to get out of the bed and onto the ground.

Gallarzo subsequently got out of the bed and began slowly approaching officers in the video. As he's approaching the officers, disobeying their commands for him to get on the ground, Gallarzo reached for the bed and grabbed a second knife, prompting officer Tate Nelson, 25, to shoot Gallarzo twice with his issued 12-gauge shotgun, and another officer discharged his Taser, Chavez said.

Nelson, who joined Metro in 2020, has since been placed on routine paid leave pending the outcome of an internal investigation.

Shortly after Gallarzo was shot, he was taken into custody and administered first aid but was ultimately pronounced dead at the scene, Chavez said. Gallarzo's wife — whom Chavez did not identify — was also pronounced dead, adding that she suffered between 15 and 20 stab wounds to her torso, back and head.

Because there was a dead body already in the room upon police arrival, Chavez said, Nelson and other officers on scene had reason to believe their lives and others nearby were in danger.

Had Gallarzo survived, he would have been arrested on counts of murder with a deadly weapon, two counts of assault with a deadly weapon on a protected person and two counts of resisting an officer with a deadly weapon that isn't a firearm, Chavez said.

Gallarzo and his wife leave behind several children ranging in age from 14 to their mid-20s, Chavez said, but did not specify how many were at the house at the time of the stabbing.

Gallarzo ultimately stabbed his wife over marital issues, Chavez said.

Chavez urged anyone in the Las Vegas valley struggling with domestic violence or other domestic issues to contact the Family Justice Center at 702-828-7714.

"In this incident, there were no previous calls of domestic violence at the house," Chavez said. "This is because there are victims in this community who do not know that there are resources available to them.

"We'd rather people call us when an argument begins, rather than wait for a family to be destroyed."

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