5 Injured in Vegas Casino Shooting

A man on a walkway over the New York-New York casino floor opened fire on the gamblers below early Friday, July 6, 2007, wounding four people before he was tackled by officers and patrons, police said. (AP Graphic) (Associated Press)

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

The gunfire, which erupted around 12:45 a.m., touched off a human stampede as tourists and gamblers tried to get out of the line of bullets. As they ran from the building, they jumped over slot machines and knocked over chairs.

"It was crazy, pandemonium," said Jade Jacobson, 28, a tourist from Deland, Fla., whose cousin, a dance teacher from Pennsylvania, was wounded in the leg. She added: "All I was thinking was that I could die right now."

Steven Zegrean, 51, of Las Vegas, was arrested and was expected to face felony charges including attempted murder, battery with a deadly weapon and discharging a firearm in an occupied structure, Las Vegas police Capt. James Dillon said.

He is expected to make an initial appearance in a Las Vegas court on Monday, a court official said. Zegrean did not yet have a lawyer late Friday afternoon, and was held without bail under suicide watch.

Authorities said Zegrean may have wandered the Las Vegas Strip for up to a day and a half before opening fire. Authorities described him as "greatly emotionally distressed" and said a relative reported he had tried to commit suicide on July 4. Police and paramedics responded to his home, but the report was ultimately determined to be unfounded, Dillon said.

Zegrean had extra ammunition in his tan three-quarter-length trench coat when he was apprehended, and may have wanted to provoke a fatal confrontation with police, Dillon said.

"This subject was capable and motivated to continue shooting," Dillon said, "but he was tackled and taken into custody after the first volley of rounds."

Melody Zegrean, 43, a Las Vegas resident who identified herself as Steven Zegrean's cousin, said he had been divorced for several years and estranged from most of his family since his ex-wife remarried.

"I love my cousin and everything," she said, "but his temper and not being able to relate has really gotten worse recently. He's been threatening the family for some time now. He's been pushing everyone away."

She described Steven Zegrean as a Hungarian immigrant and unemployed house painter who liked to gamble.

Police said they believed Zegrean entered the casino from a walkway connecting the New York-New York to the MGM Grand, and walked past a vendor and a shop before opening fire near the top of the bank of escalators.