Some of the victims of a mass shooting at a Reno casino Monday were Southern California residents attending a bachelor party, according to friends.
The violence began just after 7:30 a.m., when police say the unidentified gunman walked through a parking lot from the north and emerged in the valet area of the Grand Sierra Resort. There, he encountered a group visiting from Thousand Oaks, friends of the victims told The Times.
According to police, the gunman walked up to the group and tried to shoot, but the weapon malfunctioned. The group started to scatter just as the man got the gun working again and started shooting.
Andrew Canepa was hit several times and died at a hospital, according to two friends who requested anonymity until the victims had been officially identified. Canepa, the father of a young son, was an owner and server at the SideStreet Cafe in Newbury Park, a popular breakfast and lunch restaurant.
Dylan McLean was shot in the shoulder and jumped into a nearby truck and asked the driver to take him to a hospital, friends told The Times. During the drive, he called Matt Harper Sitler, his friend who had been shot multiple times and was hiding from the gunman.
Sitler was hospitalized, listed in critical condition and put on life support Monday. By the evening, he was able to breathe on his own, his friends told The Times. His first words after the attack were, “Is Andrew OK?”
Another friend in the group was shot and killed instantly at the scene but has not been officially identified.
The group attacked in the casino were all 2010 graduates of Thousand Oaks High and several had played high school sports together.
The group had stayed at an Airbnb near Lake Tahoe before spending Sunday night at the casino. They woke early Monday, checked out of the hotel and were waiting at the valet station for rides to take them to the airport when the shooter arrived.
Amid the chaos at the valet station, a casino security guard responded and shot at the gunman, sending the shooter fleeing, police said. As he ran away, he encountered a vehicle moving through the parking lot and opened fire, killing the driver. Soon after, police arrived and engaged the suspect in a shootout, critically wounding him.
“Tragedies like this are horrific for any community to endure, not just for the victims, the first responders and the people who were there, but for everyone involved in our community,” Reno Police Chief Kathryn Nance said. “Violence is not acceptable, especially in our public spaces.”
Three people died in the attack and three others were wounded, along with the gunman. There did not appear to be any connection between the gunman and his victims, police said Monday afternoon. The suspect’s identity has not yet been released.
“We have no known motive by the suspect,” Sparks Police Chief Chris Crawforth said at a news conference.
The Grand Sierra Resort is one of the biggest hotel and casino complexes in Reno. The 27-story building has nearly 2,000 rooms as well as casinos, spas and restaurants. It was previously branded the MGM and later the Bally’s hotel and resort. The business was open and operating Tuesday.
Times staff writer Summer Lin contributed to this report.
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