Reno NV June 9 2019

Reno police removed a man who had armed himself with wire cutters and then locked himself inside a bathroom stall at the Atlantis Casino Resort Spa Friday afternoon.

Hotel and casino security guards cordoned off the surrounding area at about 2:30 p.m. after learning that a man had locked himself inside a bathroom on the casino floor, according to communications manager Laura Darensburg.

 “We didn’t know what was going on,” Darensburg said.

Officers with the Reno Police Department and a few members of the agency’s SWAT team were also called to the scene.

Initially, the officers had received a call of an unwanted person who had completely disrobed himself, walked out of the bathroom and then walked back in and barricaded himself, according to Lt. Sean Garlock.

“He had a pair of wire cutters … and had torn out one of the sheet metal shelves and was using that as a weapon,” Garlock said.

“The most significant injuries he had he had done to himself,” he said. “The other bumps and bruises he got were from getting him out of the stall.”

Authorities used a noise diversion device or flash grenade to get the man out. He was then taken into custody nearly three hours after the initial response from hotel security guards.

Both Garlock and Darensburg confirmed the man was taken to get checked at an area hospital.

Darensburg said it appeared that the man also suffered from a head injury. No one else was hurt, and nothing was damaged.

“We cooperated and did what we could do to help them,” Darensburg said of the police.

There were no evacuations, and investigators have since cleared the area.

“It’s all over with now,” Darensburg said. “It’s back to business as usual at this point in time.”

Reno Gazette Journal

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