LAS VEGAS (Reuters) - Three people died in the heart of the Las Vegas Strip early on Thursday when one or more gunmen in a Range Rover sport utility vehicle opened fire on a Maserati, killing the driver and touching off a fiery multi-car crash.
The driver of the Maserati died in the pre-dawn shooting, and his car veered out of control and smashed into a taxi carrying two people, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police spokesman Officer Jose Hernandez said.
The cab exploded into flames in the intersection of Las Vegas Boulevard and Flamingo Road, a popular tourist area in front of several casino resorts, killing the driver and a passenger.
"There was a loud bang and I hear two other booms. I looked out my window at Caesars Palace ... and could see the fireball," witness John Lamb was quoted as saying on the website of Las Vegas KLAS-TV's 8News Now.
The gunfire and collision in the busy intersection near the Bellagio and Caesars Palace hotels triggered another crash involving four other vehicles. At least four people were hurt including a passenger in the Maserati, and the Range Rover sped from the scene, Hernandez said.
Authorities declined to identify any of the victims but the Las Vegas Review Journal newspaper and KLAS-TV identified the driver of the Maserati as aspiring rapper Kenneth Cherry Jr. YouTube videos of his music show him rapping from a silver Maserati while cruising the Las Vegas Strip.
Attorney Vicki Greco, who has represented Cherry for what she described as minor traffic issues and in a civil case, told Reuters she had been in touch with his family and friends and that they were "devastated" by the news that he had been killed.
"I have not been to the coroner ... From what I have heard, Yes, I can confirm. But I haven't been officially notified," Greco said, adding she believed it was him from news photos that showed the car.
'ARMED AND DANGEROUS'
Police said the shooting was believed to have stemmed from a fight in the valet area of the Aria Resort and Casino on the Strip, but investigators had not established a motive.
Representatives for MGM Resorts International, which owns the Aria, declined to comment on specifics of the incident but said it was working closely with police on the investigation.
A hospital spokeswoman said three people had been treated and released at University Medical Center after the incident but declined to provide information about a fourth person.
Clark County Sheriff Douglas Gillespie told a news conference that police had few leads on the Range Rover or its occupants, who were considered "armed and dangerous," but had launched a multi-state search and were seeking help from the public.
The sheriff bristled at suggestions that the outburst of gun violence could call into question the safety of the Strip, which attracts millions of visitors every year.
"I have been asked by many of you this morning, ?Is the Las Vegas Strip safe?'" Gillespie said. "Yes it is."
"Las Vegas is a valley of 2 million people. Forty million tourists visit here a year. We have 153,000 hotel rooms. In order for my police organization and other law enforcement organizations in the valley to keep this community safe, we have to work very closely not only with the community but the resort corridor as well," he said.
The incident occurred near to where rapper Tupac Shakur was shot on September 7, 1996, while riding in a BMW with Death Row Records co-founder Marion "Suge" Knight after the two men had attended a Mike Tyson boxing match.
Shakur, 25, was hit by gunfire from at least one assailant in a Cadillac while sitting in Knight's car at the intersection of Flamingo Road and Koval Lane and died six days later at University Medical Center. The crime remains unsolved.
(Additional reporting by Dan Whitcomb; Writing by Dan Whitcomb; Editing by Eric Walsh; Editing by Cynthia Johnston and Peter Cooney)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/three-die-shooting-fiery-crash-las-vegas-strip-004601047.html
An official, shadowy Chinese hacker group is reportedly responsible for more than 100 high-level attacks against major corporations and governments. The group, known as Advanced Persistent Threat? (APT1) was outed today in a 60-page report by security firm Mandiant, which has been tracking the army unit for six years. The company also released a technical, step-by-step video (below) of how one of the hackers steals information. “The sheer scale and duration of sustained attacks against such a wide set of industries from a singularly identified group based in China leaves little doubt about the organization behind APT1,” concludes the report. Even if most readers aren’t familiar with the highly technical language of the video, it’s fascinating to watch this alleged hacker sign up for a Gmail account and begin hunting for vulnerable targets. At the 1:00 mark, Mandiant shows the hacker exploiting a common technique known as “spear phishing”: sending innocuous emails to lure victims into sending sensitive information or accidentally downloading viruses. First released to the New York Times, the report follows the hidden army unit to a single building on the outskirts of Shanghai. Within the white, 12-story office tower, the group reportedly targets the United States critical infrastructure (power grid, lines, waterworks, etc.) and large U.S. businesses. “Mandiant has watched the group as it has stolen technology blueprints, manufacturing processes, clinical trial results, pricing documents, negotiation strategies and other proprietary information from more than 100 of its clients, mostly in the United States,” reports the Times. “Mandiant identified attacks on 20 industries, from military contractors to chemical plants, mining companies and satellite and telecommunications corporations.” One attack, which coincided with Coca-Cola’s failed $2.4 billion acquisition of the China Huiyuan Juice Group, stole terabytes of data after one executive fell victim to a spear phishing email. The Chinese group was “busy rummaging through their computers in an apparent effort to learn more about Coca-Cola?s negotiation strategy.” While Chinese officials vehemently deny the existence of the group, even President Obama has publicly acknowledged official attacks. ?We know foreign countries and companies swipe our corporate secrets,? he said during the State of The Union. ?Now our enemies are also seeking the ability to sabotage our power grid, our financial institutions, our air-traffic control systems. We cannot look back years from now and wonder why we did nothing.?
