Gunman targets US federal building
A gunman has opened fire in the lobby of a federal building in downtown Las Vegas, killing one court officer and wounding a second before he was shot to death.
The gunfire erupted moments after 8am on Monday and lasted for several minutes.
Shots echoed around tall buildings in the area, more than a mile north of the Las Vegas Strip.
An Associated Press reporter on the eighth floor of a high-rise building within sight of the building heard more than 20 shots during the sustained barrage of gunfire.
The US Marshals Service said the victims included a deputy US marshal and a court security officer. The 48-year-old deputy marshal was hospitalised, and the 65-year-old security officer died.
FBI Special Agent Joseph Dickey said the gunman died across the road shortly after the shootout. The man's identity and motive were not immediately known.
Authorities believe the shooter acted alone, Chief Deputy US Marshal Roxanna Lea Irwin said.
The building was evacuated, police and news helicopters circled overhead, and Las Vegas police cordoned off the area for several blocks. A 16-storey state and local courthouse two blocks away was locked down as a precaution.
After police arrived, paramedics wheeled at least two people out and down a ramp to ambulances. Dickey called the building evacuation "standard procedure" in such an incident, and said it was "for the safety of everybody in the place"
Las Vegas police spokeswoman Barbara Morgan said the shooter had been shot in the head.