Three killed after gunshots fired from SUV cause fiery crash on Las Vegas Strip 
 
 Fatal crash 
 
 The Las Vegas Strip became a scene of deadly violence early Thursday when someone in a black Range Rover opened fire on a Maserati, sending it crashing into a taxi that burst into flames, leaving three people dead and at least six injured. 
 
 Late Thursday afternoon, names of two of the deceased became known. The man driving the Maserati has been identified as Kenneth Wayne Cherry Jr., 27. Las Vegas attorney Vicki Greco, of Greco Law Group, had represented Cherry in speeding ticket cases and said friends of his had been calling throughout the day about his death. The deceased taxi driver was identified as Michael Boldon, Desert Cab company general manager Sandy Shaver confirmed. 
 
 Police said a confrontation that appeared to have begun in the valet area of the Aria resort spilled onto Las Vegas Boulevard, leading to sporadic gunshots being fired from the Range Rover as the vehicles traveled north. The accident occurred near Las Vegas Boulevard and Flamingo Road, the site of several major casinos, including Bellagio, Caesars Palace and Bally's. 
 
 "This doesn't happen where we come from, not on this scale," said Mark Thompson, who was visiting from Manchester, England, with his wife. "We get stabbings, and gang violence, but this is like something out of a movie. Like 'Die Hard' or something." 
 
 Police were contacting authorities in three neighboring states about the Range Rover Sport with tinted windows and paper dealer plates that fled the scene about 4:30 a.m. 
 
 Metro Police Sgt. John Sheahan said the vehicles were seen pulling onto Las Vegas Boulevard near East Harmon Avenue, near City Center, then heading north. Although authorities initially said gunshots were fired from both the SUV and the Maserati, Sheahan clarified that gunfire came only from the Range Rover. 
 
 Thursday afternoon, Sheriff Doug Gillespie said after the driver of the Maserati was shot, he lost control of the car passed through a red light and hit the taxi cab, which went up in flames. Boldon and his passenger in the cab were killed. Cherry died in the Maserati, and his passenger was shot. 
 
 "What is the genesis of this, when did this all start? We don't know yet," Las Vegas Police Sgt. John Sheahan said. 
 
 The passenger in the Maserati was taken to University Medical Center, where he was being interviewed by detectives. 
 
 Gillespie said there were several people in the Range Rover, but police were not saying whether they knew of any relationship or ill will between the people in the two vehicles beyond the argument at the valet station. 
 
 Tourists staying in high-rise hotels around the scene found police tape blocking access to the area around the intersection. By 8 p.m., the intersection was reopened, after police crime scene investigators were finished collecting evidence. 
 
 Jeff Martin, 33, of Columbus, Ohio, said he was unable to cross the Strip several hours after the incident. 
 
 "When you're out at 4 a.m. nothing good's going to happen," he said. 
 
 Sheahan said the attack was not a rolling gun battle as previously described. The cars were stopped at a light when at least one person in the Range Rover opened fire. Several people were inside the vehicle, described as a four-door SUV with big black rims. 
 
 Multiple rounds were fired from the Range Rover, Gillespie said. He added police did not know whether what kind of firearms were used in the shooting, 
 
 Six other vehicles were involved in the crash that followed, including the taxi and Maserati. 
 
 Shaver said he was called to the scene to provide information. 
 
 Shaver also said the taxi that was struck was not fueled by propane or natural gas, as some had speculated. Gillespie said the cab exploded from the "sheer force" of the impact of the crash. 
 
 Greg Bambic, president of the Professional Drivers Association, a taxi driver organization dedicated to assisting drivers who are victims of crimes and acts of violence, said the group plans to donate $5,000 to the Boldon family. 
 
 Bambic said the organization since 2004 has donated thousands of dollars to drivers who have been robbed and assaulted on the job and their families. 
 
 “It’s drivers helping drivers,�? said Bambic. 
 
 The association raises money through memberships and fund-raisers and it receives donations from Southern Nevada companies that are friendly to the cab industry. Bambic said some of the most supportive donors are the cab companies themselves. 
 
 Teri Williams, a spokeswoman for the Nevada Department of Business and Industry, which oversees the Nevada Taxicab Authority, said the agency’s patrol officers were close to the scene when the incident occurred and were among the first responders. 
 
 The Taxicab Authority investigates accidents involving taxicabs. 
 
 Williams said Metro took over the investigation, but authority officers are continuing to assist. She had no further details about the status of the investigation. 
 
 The incident marked the latest violence on the Strip since the beginning of the year. Two people were critically wounded in a shooting at a parking garage Feb. 6, and a tourist was stabbed Saturday in an elevator at The Hotel at Mandalay Bay. On Dec. 14, a busy Friday night at the Excalibur, a murder-suicide near the registration desk of the resort sent crowds visitors running to the exits. 
 
 A spokesman for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, Jeremy Handel, said his organization didn't immediately have a comment on the latest incident and deferred to police. 
 
 Metro spokesman Officer Jose Hernandez acknowledged the Strip has seen several violent incidents in recent weeks but said police have made arrests or identified suspects in each case. 
 
 "People don't have to worry," he said. "This is an unusual occurrence, as tragic as it may be." 
 
 Eileen Brosnan, who was visiting Las Vegas from Killarney County Kerry, Ireland, was stunned by what she saw at the scene. 
 
 "I live in a little small town where we have absolutely no crime," she said. "The only way we hear about things like this is on CNN or news from other places. I knew there was crime here, but I wasn't expecting anything of this magnitude. I don't feel less safe, because there is plenty of security and police to deal with it. It is very surprising to me, though. I was staying at Caesars, and I just had to come down and see it." 
 
 Sheahan said police have video from traffic cameras at the intersection and were checking whether the shooting might have been sparked by an altercation at a nightclub. 
 
 "We have a lot of pieces to put together to establish a timeline as to why this confrontation occurred," Sheahan said. "We have numerous detectives checking resorts on the Strip south of this intersection." 
 
 In interviews with Fox 5 KVVU-TV, family members of Boldon said he moved to Las Vegas recently to care for his mother, who is 93. It was not clear where Boldon lived before making the move. 
 
 “My life mission would be to see (the suspects) punished and brought to justice,�? said Tehran Boldon, Michael Boldon’s brother. “I don’t know what their affiliation is, if they’re in a gang or whatever. But they’re stupid and senseless men, and they must pay.�? 
 
 Cherry was an aspiring rapper whose twitter feed included links to videos identifying him as "Kenny Clutch" and with scenes featuring a Maserati on the Las Vegas Strip. His attorney said Cherry loved cars and drove a gray Maserati, but she’d always remember him for his trademark dreadlocks. 
 
 “He was loyal, dependable, somebody that would always have your back if you were on his team,�? Greco said. “He was a stand up guy.�? 
 
 Associated Press writers Ken Ritter, Michelle Rindels and Hannah Dreier contributed to this report, as well as Sun reporters Will D’Urso, Ron Sylvester, Tovin Lapan and Richard N. Velotta. ||||| The Las Vegas Strip became a scene of deadly violence early Thursday when someone in a black Range Rover opened fire on a Maserati, sending it crashing into a taxi that burst into flames, leaving three people dead and at least six injured. 
 
 In this still image take from video provided by KTNV, police investigate the scene of a shooting between cars on the Las Vegas Strip early Thursday, Feb. 21, 2013 in Las Vegas. Gunshots fired from a black... (Associated Press) 
 
 Map locates the site of a shooting in Las Vegas that ended in a deadly car crash. (Associated Press) 
 
 Police believe an altercation earlier at an unspecified casino resort prompted the car-to-car attack in the heart of the Strip at Las Vegas Boulevard and Flamingo Road. 
 
 The crossroads is the site of several major hotel-casinos, including Bellagio, Caesars Palace and Bally's. 
 
 "This doesn't happen where we come from, not on this scale," said Mark Thompson, who was visiting from Manchester, England, with his wife. "We get stabbings, and gang violence, but this is like something out of a movie. Like `Die Hard' or something." 
 
 Police said they were contacting authorities in three neighboring states about the Range Rover Sport with dark tinted windows, distinctive black custom rims and paper dealer ads in place of license plates that fled the scene about 4:20 a.m. 
 
 In Southern California, the California Highway Patrol alerted officers in at least three counties to be on the lookout for the SUV. 
 
 Las Vegas Police Sgt. John Sheahan said the Range Rover was last seen near the Venetian resort as it headed north from the shooting scene on Las Vegas Boulevard. 
 
 Witnesses also told police the SUV and Maserati had come from the nearby CityCenter area, just south of the site of the attack. 
 
 "We have numerous witnesses to this," Sheahan said. "But what is the genesis of this? We don't know yet." 
 
 Predawn jogger Eric Lackey was on his way back to the New York-New York hotel when he snapped a cellphone photo of the blazing scene moments after the crash. Black smoke billowed from the flaming taxi, amid popping sounds from the fire. 
 
 Lackey, of Forest Hill, Md., said a security officer in a yellow shirt performed CPR on a person on the sidewalk while police officers canvassed a small crowd of perhaps 15 onlookers gathering at the scene. 
 
 "Police were asking if anyone was still in the vehicles and if they heard gunfire," Lackey told The Associated Press. "That's when I realized it wasn't just a regular accident." 
 
 Sheahan said police have video from traffic cameras at the intersection and were checking hotel surveillance systems. The video will not be made public, he said. 
 
 Police said the Maserati hit the taxi cab, which went up in flames, and the driver and passenger were killed. The male driver of the Maserati also died, and his passenger was shot. 
 
 The crumpled, gray sports car, which had no license plates, came to rest several feet away from the incinerated taxi. 
 
 "The people I feel sorry for are the people in the taxi," said Elvina Joyce, a tourist from Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. "Seconds made all the difference in the world for them. Wrong place, wrong time." 
 
 Joyce and her husband, Dave Joyce, were among the guests staying in high-rise hotels around the scene who found police tape blocking access to normally busy pedestrian crossings at the intersection. Hotel security officers and police shooed away people with cameras, and footbridges linking resort hotels were closed. Traffic around the area was snarled. 
 
 Sheahan said the closures were expected to last most of the day while crime scene investigators collected evidence. 
 
 "CSI," said Dave Joyce. "There it is. Real crime scene investigators in Las Vegas." 
 
 A convention-goer, Jeff Martin, 33, of Columbus, Ohio, said he was unable to cross the Strip several hours after the attack. 
 
 "When you're out at 4 a.m. nothing good's going to happen," he said. 
 
 Sheahan said the attack was not a rolling gun battle as previously described. The SUV and Maserati were stopped or approaching a red light when at least one person in the Range Rover opened fire. Several people were inside the SUV, the sergeant said. 
 
 Six vehicles were involved in the crash that followed, including the taxi and Maserati. The taxi was affiliated with Desert Cab company, according to general manager Sandy Shaver. He declined to comment further. 
 
 The taxi might have been propane-powered, Sheahan said. 
 
 The incident marked the latest violence on the Strip since the beginning of the year. Two people were critically wounded in a shooting at a parking garage on Feb. 6, and a tourist was stabbed Saturday in an elevator at The Hotel at Mandalay Bay. 
 
 A spokesman for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, Jeremy Handel, reassured people that much is being done to keep them safe. 
 
 "Recent incidents, while unfortunate, were isolated events," he said in a statement. "Las Vegas is among the safest travel destinations in the world and utilizes the most advanced technology and training to maintain a secure environment." 
 
 Las Vegas Police Officer Jose Hernandez acknowledged that the Strip has seen several violent incidents in recent weeks but said police have made arrests or identified suspects in each case. 
 
 "People don't have to worry," he said. "This is an unusual occurrence, as tragic as it may be." 
 
 The area near the scene of the latest shooting has been the site of high-profile violence in the past. 
 
 Rapper Tupac Shakur was killed in a drive-by in 1996 about a block away under similar circumstances, as assailants opened fire on his luxury sedan from a vehicle on Flamingo Road. The killing has never been solved. 
 
 ___ 
 
 Associated Press writers Michelle Rindels and Hannah Dreier contributed to this report. ||||| Vegas Strip shooting 
 
 LAS VEGAS — It started with a dispute in a hotel along the famed Strip then turned into the kind of mayhem associated with blockbuster movies: gunshots, crashing vehicles and a fiery explosion. Three people were killed, at least three were injured and this resort city was in a midst of a manhunt Thursday. 
 
 Las Vegas Boulevard near Flamingo Road -- some of the most valuable real estate along the legendary Strip -- was shut down Thursday morning and probably will stay closed for hours, officials told reporters at a news conference in the shadow of such major hotels as Bellagio, Caesars Palace and Bally’s. 
 
 “It began with a dispute at a nearby hotel and spilled on to the streets,” Capt. Chris Jones, from the Las Vegas Robbery Homicide Division, said. There was no immediate explanation for the altercation, he said. 
 
 PHOTOS: Las Vegas rolling gun battle 
 
 Those involved in the dispute took to the road in two vehicles, a silver-gray Maserati and a black Range Rover SUV, with tinted windows, black tire rims and paper dealer plates from out of state, the police captain said. The Maserati sped off at a high rate of speed and the SUV followed. 
 
 About 4:30 a.m. at a stoplight, gunshots were fired from the SUV, police said, hitting the Maserati, which then plowed into a taxi cab that exploded in a fireball on impact. The cab driver and passenger were killed at the scene and Maserati driver was pronounced dead at a hospital. A passenger in the Maserati was among the injured. 
 
 The SUV raced off and was being sought by officials who have contacted police authorities in three states to be on the lookout for the vehicle. It was not known how many people were inside the SUV, but all were assumed to be armed and dangerous. 
 
 INTERACTIVE: Violence in Las Vegas 
 
 Las Vegas, which is based on gambling, tourism and convention business, prides itself on being safe for visitors. There have been some incidents in recent weeks, but nothing on the scale of this predawn shooting. 
 
 Tourists waking up Thursday morning faced problems getting around. Bell captains tried to direct lines of people to alternate transportation, including cab lines outside the shut-down zone. Workers in the service industry were delayed through the morning commute. Limousine drivers sought alternate routes. Casino workers coming off their overnight shifts looked for makeshift stops for buses that normally picked up and delivered people along the Strip. 
 
 “You have to go way out of your way,” Jim DeSanto, driver for a local resort, said. “Most people will understand but you have your complainers. Those people will complain when everything is perfect.” 
 
 STORIFY: Witnesses capture shooting and fire in tweets and video 
 
 Another limousine driver stood outside his black stretch vehicle. Malik Alamudeen, a driver for 24-7 Entertainment Limousines, said the traffic snarls cost him at least $500 in tips. 
 
 The shooting was the talk of the area, even among the denizens of the night, such as Paul Pillat, 58, formerly of Milwaukee, Wis. He described himself as a homeless person who has been trawling the streets for years. He said he was known by his street name, Tumbleweed, and he was heading to a fast-food restaurant near the intersection about 4:20 a.m. when he heard the gunshots. 
 
 “I ducked right away,” Pillat said. “I didn’t know what was going on. Somebody could have been shooting at me.” 
 
 He said he did not see the impact, but heard the crash of vehicles. 
 
 “Then the ambulances started coming, it was like a stock car rally out there,” he said, adding he had come to expect violence. “It’s the wild West here. People don’t understand. They think it is fun and games. It’s not. It’s dangerous.” 
 
 But many tourists were more sanguine. 
 
 Inside the casinos, the hurly-burly of the gambling continued with one person, who refused to give his name, pulling the handle of a slot machine. “I’m here for the day and I’m going to get my gambling in,” he said, turning back to the machine at Bally’s. 
 
 “Look at what happened in Orange County this week,” Gaspar Pasqualetto, of Diamond Bar, 83, said of a shooting spree that left four dead, including the gunman. He said he learned of the Nevada shooting when he arrived at Las Vegas on Thursday morning. 
 
 Racing form in hand, Pasqualetto waved as he headed to the sports book inside Bally’s. 
 
 “Wish me luck,” he said. 
 
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– Police in three states are still hunting for a Range Rover whose occupants opened fire on another car on the Vegas Strip this morning and set off a deadly chain reaction. Cops don't know most of the details, but they say it started with a dispute of some kind in one of the nearby hotels, then spilled into the street, reports the Las Vegas Sun. When the Range Rover caught up to a Maserati at a stop light, shots were fired from the SUV that sent the Maserati crashing into a taxi, which exploded upon impact. Three people—the Maserati driver, the taxi driver, and a taxi passenger—were killed, and three others were injured, reports the LA Times. Police are hoping to piece together more details by interviewing a passenger in the Maserati, who was injured in the melee. Earlier reports that gunfire came from both vehicles as part of a moving shootout were incorrect. The AP collects this quote from a tourist visiting from Manchester, England: "This doesn't happen where we come from, not on this scale. We get stabbings, and gang violence, but this is like something out of a movie. Like Die Hard or something."