Homeless Man Shot by Officer Chrissie Coon

The Clark County Coroner's Office said a man shot during an encounter with a North Las Vegas police officer Monday died of a gunshot wound of the head.

Medical examiners identified the person as 38-year-old David L. Robinson.

According to NLVPD Public Information Officer Chrissie Coon, a uniformed officer was patrolling the area of Woodard Street and Tonopah Avenue about 1 a.m. when he saw a man identified as Robinson walking in a crosswalk. Coon said the officer informed dispatchers he was going to stop the person.

According to Coon, the encounter with the 38-year-old homeless man grew violent.

Within minutes of the encounter, the officer called dispatchers to say there had been shots fired and medical assistance was needed, according to police.

Police said the person shot by the officer died at the scene. There were no injuries to the officer.

An investigation revealed the officer stopped his patrol vehicle along the sidewalk and attempted to approach the man on foot. Police said the man was being uncooperative and he began to back way from the officer towards the backyard of an abandoned residence.

It wasn't until the officer walked towards the man that the incident escalated, police said.

Coon said a knife was recovered from the scene.

"At some point, the suspect presented a knife. The officer fired his weapon, striking the suspect multiple times," Coon said.

Police said the entire incident took place within 2 1/2 minutes.

"We really have to take our time to break that two minutes into pieces and see what exactly that officer was presented with when this incident occurred," said Coon.

Police said they target the area because of its high number of abandoned homes and buildings.

"It's becoming a public safety danger to have people in and around these house. Code enforcement is coming out and boarding up these houses. The homeless are coming in and taking those boards down, and you know there's electrical hazards and things of that nature," said Coon.

The officer in the shooting was only identified as a 31-year-old, five-year veteran of North Las Vegas police. He was placed on paid administrative leave.

The incident marked the first officer-involved shooting for North Las Vegas police this year.