A man was arrested after allegedly taking a woman hostage in the hotel room on the 21st floor of Caesars Palace Las Vegas Hotel and Casino.
The whole event lasted for several tense hours, leaving everyone on edge and fearing for their safety. Shockingly, a window in the room suddenly shattered, leading to a panicked evacuation of the pool area as the man threw furniture and objects out of the window.
Outside, guests heard the glass break and saw curtains billowing from a broken window about two-thirds up the 29-story Palace Tower, which is one of six towers at Caesars Palace with nearly 4 000 rooms.
The suspect has been charged with kidnapping, coercion with force or threat of force, resisting a public officer, disregarding the safety of a person or property, and destruction of property.
Two of the charges carry a deadly weapon enhancement, which could lead to a more severe sentence if he is found guilty.
According to Las Vegas police Captain Stephen Connell, the standoff began around 9.15am on July 11th after hotel security reported an argument between a man and a woman.
The man allegedly pulled the woman into a room “by force”. The ordeal lasted about six hours, and the police detained the suspect at around 2.45pm.
During the standoff, Captain Connell explained that they had contact with the woman believed to be held hostage, and she was thought to be “still okay”.
SWAT officers secured the hallway outside the room, but it remained unclear whether the man was armed. The situation had an eeriness reminiscent of a real-life scene from the movie “Taken”.
Amid the chaos, some guests even believed that there might be a shooter or an attack happening when they heard staff yelling for guests to evacuate the pool area. Some people found shelter by a staircase while various objects like a coffee-maker, hair dryer, and a desk flew out of a window.
However, after 30 minutes, guests were informed that it was safe to return to their rooms and business resumed as usual.