Las Vegas police say their Violent Gun Crime Unit is on a tear in 2026, logging 82 cases, 141 arrests and 116 recovered firearms so far this year. The latest numbers dropped Friday, bundled with new details about an April shooting that ended with a SWAT-assisted arrest and a cache of weapons taken from a suspect's home.
🚨LVMPD Violent Gun Crime Unit🚨
— LVMPD (@LVMPD) May 8, 2026
2026 VGCU Stats:
Cases - 82
Arrests made - 141
Firearms recovered - 116
On April 23, 2026, LVMPD received a report of a female who had been shot near Eastern Avenue and Charleston Boulevard. Patrol officers immediately responded to the scene.
Metro's Latest Breakdown
According to a post from LVMPD, the Violent Gun Crime Unit's 2026 tally now sits at 82 cases, 141 arrests and 116 firearms recovered. The update also calls out event number LLV260400091792, tied to an April 23 shooting near Eastern Avenue and Charleston Boulevard in which a woman was shot.
Detectives later identified a 53-year-old man as the suspect in that case. When officers, assisted by SWAT, took him into custody, investigators say they seized three firearms from his residence.
Gun Cases Spike Since Early March
The fresh totals mark a steep climb from early March, when an earlier LVMPD update showed the unit at 36 cases, 54 arrests and 46 firearms recovered, as reported by FOX5. Police credit the pace to targeting known, repeat offenders and leaning on rapid, intelligence-led enforcement rather than waiting for cases to pile up.
Where the Gun Unit Fits in Metro's Bigger Plan
The Violent Gun Crime Unit is one piece of Metro's broader push to centralize shooting investigations and improve solve rates, a priority laid out in the department's State of the Department materials. Citywide, officers have logged hundreds of firearm-related cases so far this year, according to the latest LVMPD weekly statistical report.
That volume is part of why Metro continues to lean on specialized units and ballistic intelligence in its efforts to tamp down armed violence, an approach detailed in the department's State of the Department presentation filed with the Nevada Legislature.
Anyone with information about the April 23 shooting or other gun-related incidents can contact Metro's Violent Gun Crime Unit tip line at 702-828-7815 or Crime Stoppers at 702-385-5555. Metro has not yet released additional public information about any criminal charges stemming from the April arrest.
