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5 injured in Vegas casino shooting

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published July 7, 2007

LAS VEGAS - A man on a balcony over the New York-New York casino floor opened fire on the gamblers below early Friday, wounding four people before he was tackled by off-duty military reservists, police said. A fifth person was hurt in a crush of people fleeing the casino.

"It was crazy, pandemonium, " said Jade Jacobson, 28, a tourist from DeLand whose cousin, a dance teacher from Pennsylvania, was wounded in the leg.

"People were running and jumping over slot machines and knocking over chairs, " Jacobson said.

Police said 16 shots were fired at 12:45 a.m. All the injuries were described as minor, and none of the victims remained hospitalized Friday, authorities said.

Las Vegas police Capt. James Dillon said a woman and a teenage boy were wounded, a man was grazed by a bullet, a woman was hit by a bullet fragment or shrapnel, and a woman was bruised and scraped when she fell amid a crowd of people.

Steven Zegrean, 51, of Las Vegas was arrested on felony charges including attempted murder, battery with a deadly weapon and discharging a firearm in an occupied structure, Dillon said. He is expected to make an initial appearance in a Las Vegas court on Monday, a court official said. Zegrean was held without bail under suicide watch.

Two Florida Department of Law Enforcement agents from Tampa were among those who helped subdue the shooter.

Brothers Paul and Bob Ura were off duty on personal leave in Las Vegas when they witnessed the shooting, FDLE spokeswoman Trena Reddick said. As they were leaving an event, they saw the gunman open fire, then attempt to reload his weapon.

The Uras rushed and helped tackle the suspect. They borrowed handcuffs from hotel security and held him until Las Vegas police arrived. The brothers were unarmed.

"They were just being good citizens up there, " Reddick said.

[Last modified July 7, 2007, 00:20:33]