Man accused of shooting 5 at Las Vegas birthday party was tackled by partygoers, police say

LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) - Birthday partygoers tackled and held down a suspected shooter until police arrived, according to an arrest report from Las Vegas Metropolitan Police.

Alberto Santacruz faces five charges of attempted murder, five charges of battery, two charges of discharging a gun and charges of a prohibited person owning a gun and drug possession in connection with the shooting in the early morning hours of Sept. 18.

Police said they were called to the home around 12:54 a.m. Sept. 18 to reports of a shooting. When officers arrived, there were five victims suffering from gunshot wounds.

Witnesses said they were at a birthday party in the backyard of the home. They said an argument started between a suspect and a witness. According to an arrest report, one of the victims got in between the witness and suspect and suspect shot him once.

The suspect then ran toward the front yard and was followed by a family member of the victim, the report said. The suspect reportedly fired again at the side gate and continued to fire more rounds at the family following him. Police said the suspect was tackled and the family tried to wrestle the gun away from the suspect.

As the family wrestled with the suspect, he reportedly continued to fire. Police said four more victims were shot and nine total rounds were fired.

After the family had disarmed the suspect, police took him into custody.

Police said initially, the suspect was uncooperative and refused to identify himself. The suspect had a Mexican Consular car on him that police determined was fraudulent. Eventually, police were able to identify the suspect as Santacruz.

Police said Santacruz is not a U..S citizen and has been previously arrested. Santacruz has previously been convicted in Nevada of conspiracy to commit kidnapping (2007) and possession of a controlled substance (2015), according to the arrest report.

All five victims were taken to University Medical Center for treatment. Two victims were critically injured with gunshot wounds to the chest and back. Santacruz was taken to UMC with non life-threatening injuries.

Santacruz has not been granted bail, according to court records. His next court appearance was set for Thursday.

LVMPD gang unit continues to investigate the shooting.

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