Posted on: September 25, 2024, 08:55h.
Last updated on: September 25, 2024, 08:58h.
Cops are continuing to search for the two assailants who this past weekend violently attacked a St. Louis husband and wife who were visiting Las Vegas to celebrate their sixth wedding anniversary.
The would-be victims, Mitchell and Michelle Stonebarger, had only recently checked into the Paris Las Vegas.
They went out onto Las Vegas Boulevard for a walk. Mitchell Stonebarger had a video camera with him and was capturing scenery of a popular tourist area.
Suddenly, two men, both in blue shirts, approached him and got angry when Stonebarger began to film them.
Wanted to ‘Kill’ Visitor
Don’t put your camera in nobody’s fXXXXXg face,” one of the men yelled at Stonebarger.
The assailants then struck Stonebarger and grabbed the camera. “These guys were out for blood,” Mitchell Stonebarger later told Las Vegas TV station KLAS. “It’s like they wanted to kill me.”
Even after the couple fled from the immediate area and turned off the camera, the suspects continued to attack the defenseless visitor.
I felt another punch, and I went down like that. As soon as I went down, I felt another punch, and my camera got yanked out of my hand. That guy took my camera, and I saw him smash it on the ground,” Stonebarger revealed.
“The last place I want to be is on the ground in the fetal position, getting kicked in the head.”
He wound up with swelling and bruises on his face from the punches and kicks, KLAS reported. An eye was swollen and his nose got bruised, added Las Vegas TV station KSNV. A scar is on his face.
He later was treated by a doctor at an urgent care center.
Also, a crowd watched the incident unfold, but none of the curious onlookers came to assist, the victims said.
None of the witnesses even checked up on the couple after the attack. That’s the case even though Michelle Stonebarger needed medical attention for an ailment.
The victims later reported the attack to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD). The visitors said they don’t plan to return to Las Vegas any time soon.
You hear people say, ‘Be careful outside of The Strip.’ I’m saying, be careful in The Strip,” Mitchell Stonebarger told KLAS.
Police Want ‘Safe’ Tourist Corridor
LVMPD Captain Steve Connell recently told Las Vegas TV station KVVU that Las Vegas Sheriff Kevin McMahill “wants the tourist corridor safe. We have pushed hard from the start of the year to make his vision happen.”
As crime continues to be a concern for Las Vegas residents, businesses, and visitors, local officials will hold a Public Safety Town Hall on Thursday.
The program will be held between 5:30 and 7:30 p.m. at the LVMPD’s Northwest Area Command (NWAC), 9850 W. Cheyenne Ave.
