Vegas Blast Leaves One Dead at Luxor

The Cable Show ’07 Being Held at Mandalay Bay Convention Center Next Door

By Linda Haugsted -- Multichannel News, May 7, 2007

Las Vegas -- One hotel employee was killed Monday morning when an explosive device left on a car atop the parking structure of the Luxor Resort Hotel & Casino here exploded when the victim picked it up off a car.

Attendees at The Cable Show ’07 at the next-door Mandalay Bay Convention Center awoke to the sound of news helicopters hovering overhead and rescue units and investigators from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms swarming the area, yellow-taping off all of the driving exits. For a short period early in the morning, the exit doors to the Luxor were locked while responders assessed the situation.

According to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, two Luxor employees left the building just before 4 a.m. In the parking lot, the victim noticed a bag or backpack atop a car. When the victim lifted it, it exploded. The victim was rushed to a local hospital but died there. The second employee was not hurt.

LVMPD Officer Bill Cassel said the incident is being investigated as a homicide via an unusual method. The victim appears to have been the target of the explosive.

Police officials said other than the taped-off crime scene, it is business as usual at the hotel.