Death of man with AR-15 rifle at Vegas hotel ruled suicide
By KEN RITTER
Associated Press
LAS VEGAS (AP) — A man found dead of a gunshot in a casino restroom in January had an assault-style rifle and what police characterized as a suicide note with him, according to a police report obtained Friday.
Michael James Robinson, 40, was seen “conducting suspicious activities and displaying odd behaviors” at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino before he was found dead Jan. 21 in a restroom stall with an AR-15 rifle at his side, according the report.
After viewing casino video, police did not describe Robinson carrying the AR-15, but the report said a medium-sized rolling suitcase and a bag were found next to his body.
Las Vegas police Officer Luis Vidal said he had no additional information about the incident, and representatives of hotel owner Dreamscape LLC in New York and casino-hotel operator Caesars Entertainment Inc. did not immediately respond to emails from The Associated Press.
The Rio is a 2,500-room property west of the Strip. Robinson’s death was first reported Friday by the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
The Clark County coroner said Robinson died of a gunshot to the head and ruled his death a suicide. His hometown was not listed in police or coroner’s reports. The police report said he was identified with a passport found in his belongings.
The incident resonated in Las Vegas, where a gunman in October 2017 rained bullets with assault-style rifles from the windows of a high-rise hotel, killing 58 people and wounding hundreds at an outdoor country music concert on the Strip. Months later, two deaths of people who were badly wounded were also attributed to the massacre. It remains the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history.
The police report of Robinson’s death, with sections blacked-out, described Robinson entering and exiting the casino, “attempting to open random door handles” in a valet parking lot, “walking around in circles with … no set destination” and then going into the restroom.
According to the police report, officers responded at 8:40 a.m. to a call from the hotel, where a casino floor supervisor who was in his office nearby described hearing “a loud bang sound” from the men’s restroom.
The police report said the supervisor and casino security officers saw the man and the rifle on the restroom floor behind a locked stall door before summoning police.
