Las Vegas PD Shoot Arsonist Who Pointed Gun At Them, Then Tried To Take A Hostage

It started out as an arson investigation and quickly escalated after the suspect took off running and pointed a weapon at officers.

It ended with the suspect shot to death in his mother’s home right in front of her.

Newly released bodycam footage shows the moments officers with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department opened fire on 32-year-old Joshua Squires.

On Monday morning, an officer approached Squires near Nellis Boulevard about two vehicle fires that happened the night before.

That's when footage shows Squires take off running. He then brandishes what appears to be a 9mm handgun and points it at the officer.

The officer fired one round but missed. Squires then jumped over a wall and barricaded himself inside of his mother's mobile home.


"Crisis negotiators and LVMPD SWAT responded to the scene." said LVMPD.

Police say Squires let several other adult family members come out, but he held his mom hostage and was threatening to start a fire inside. After failed negotiations, SWAT went in,

They found Squires still holding what looked like a real firearm prompting an officer to fire 11 shots from his rifle.

It wasn't until after the shooting that LVMPD learned Squires was actually carrying an airsoft gun. They say the orange tip appeared to have been filed off.

"It's a challenge for officers because there you are in a life or death situation with the facts as you know them at the time, and I can tell you looking at those on a split second, I don't know that you'd be able to tell the difference, and that's not something any officer wants to bet his life on," said LVMPD Assistant Sheriff Christopher Darcy.

Squires died from several gunshot wounds. No one else was injured, and the shooting is still under investigation.