Good police work and a long-distance rapport helped police snag a suspect in a Las Vegas multiple drive-by shooting at a bus stop in Denver.
“It was just good communication across state lines,” said Sonny Jackson, a Denver police spokesman.
Nicco Tatum, 18, was arrested at about 10 p.m. Wednesday at the downtown Denver Bus Terminal, at 19th and Curtis streets. Tatum is wanted in connection with a shooting at a school-bus stop in Las Vegas that injured six young people, police said.
He was taken into custody without incident, Jackson said, by the Fugitive Location and Apprehension Group (FLAG), which included Denver SWAT and U.S. Marshals Service members.
Chief Deputy Ken Deal with the Marshals Service in Denver said his office was alerted by counterparts in Las Vegas that Tatum was on a Greyhound bus heading for Chicago that would make a stop in Denver.
FLAG officers waiting for Tatum in Denver watched one bus that the suspect was supposed to be on arrive and unload, but Tatum wasn’t found.
The FLAG group was patient and waited for a second bus, Deal said.
“They just stayed put,” Deal said. “At that point in time, there wasn’t any reason for them to leave.”
Tatum was traveling alone and had several bags of clothing with him, Deal said.
He is expected to be booked on six counts of attempted murder with a deadly weapon and six counts of battery with a deadly weapon.
Las Vegas police were still searching for a second suspect.
Tatum was in Denver City Jail on a hold from Las Vegas. A city prosecutor did not immediately return a call today.
Six people were wounded Tuesday at a bus stop a few miles from Mojave High School in North Las Vegas. At least one teen remained hospitalized Wednesday.
Alejandro Rios, 18, who was shot in the torso, was upgraded from critical to serious condition, University Medical Center spokeswoman Cheryl Persinger said. A 17-year-old male also hospitalized had been listed in serious condition late Tuesday, but an update was not available because he has chosen to keep his information private, Persinger said.
A 21-year-old man and three other teens were treated for less severe wounds and released soon after the shooting, authorities said.
Police believe the shooting stemmed from a fight at school over a girl earlier Tuesday. The brawl was contained by school police, who arrested three male students, all about 16, officials said.
Sheriff Doug Gillespie said the fight did not appear to be gang or race-related. But police Officer Jose Montoya said Wednesday that police gang-unit investigators were handling the case.
Authorities also were investigating reports of a fight Monday at the bus stop.
“We did get reports that there was an incident at the same bus stop the day before,” Montoya said Wednesday. “But when our officers got there, there was nothing.” Police and school officials said security would remain tight at campuses throughout the district until at least the end of the week.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
