LAS VEGAS — A Las Vegas Strip shootout left three dead Thursday and police scrambling for answers, with Oakland rapper Kenneth Cherry Jr (Kenny Clutch) named among the victims.
Kenny Clutch, 27, was shot by persons in a black Range Rover about 4:20 a.m. as he drove on Las Vegas Boulevard. After he was shot, Kenny Clutch rapidly accelerated his gray Maserati down Las Vegas Boulevard and through a red light before striking a cab at the intersection of Flamingo Road.
The cab burst into flames, and the cabdriver and a passenger were both killed. Six others were injured, police said.
The crumpled gray Maserati, which had no license plate, came to rest several feet away from the incinerated taxi. Kenny Clutch was later pronounced dead at a hospital.
Police did not release the names of others who died or were injured, citing the ongoing investigation, but said bullets came from the black Range Rover as it raced with the Maserati toward a red light on the Vegas Strip.
Three more cars and a utility truck collided at the crossroads, which is home to Bellagio, Caesars Palace and Bally’s, leaving people injured as the Range Rover sped off, police said.
“We have numerous witnesses,” Las Vegas police Sgt. John Sheahan said. “But what is the genesis of this? We don’t know yet.”
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The spectacular predawn has set off a frantic search for the occupants of the Range Rover. Police will use video from traffic cameras at the intersection and are checking hotel surveillance systems. The video will not be made public, he said.
Clark County Sheriff Doug Gillespie said Thursday’s attack was sparked by an argument in the valet area of the nearby Aria hotel-casino and that the violence at the intersection of Las Vegas Boulevard and Flamingo Road did not reflect the values of Las Vegas residents or visitors, according to the Oakland Times.
“What happened will not be tolerated,” Gillespie said.