Landlord Allegedly Smiles After Fatally Shooting 2 And Injuring 1 Over Unpaid Rent

A Las Vegas homeowner has been accused of fatally shooting two tenants and injuring another over unpaid rent. The landlord even allegedly smiled after firing the shots, according to a witness.

Police were called to a residence on the 200 block of West Chicago Avenue, near South Main Street and Las Vegas Boulevard South, at around 12:25 a.m. Tuesday. Responding officers found a woman with gunshot wounds in the front yard of the house. Medics pronounced her dead at the scene.

The second victim, a man who had been shot nine times, emerged from the house. He was taken to University Medical Center and is expected to survive.

A SWAT team arrived at the scene and surrounded the house as the suspected shooter did not immediately leave.

Following negotiations, the suspect, identified as 78-year-old Arnoldo Lozano-Sanchez, left the house and surrendered to the police without incident.

When officers entered the house they found the body of another woman, reported CNN.

Lozano-Sanchez was charged with two counts of murder and one count of attempted murder. He made an initial appearance on Las Vegas Justice Court Wednesday.

A witness reportedly told investigators Lozano-Sanchez rented out his home to multiple people.

"Several days ago Lozano became angry about the occupants not paying rent," the witness said as per the police report obtained by Las Vegas Review-Journal. The suspect was identified by his middle name in the police report.

According to the prosecutor, Lozano-Sanchez told the witness "he didn't want to go through the eviction process."

Moreover, Chief Deputy District Attorney Tim Fattig told the judge Lozano-Sanchez "wanted to handle it, quote-unquote, 'his way,'" reported AP News.

Carlos Lopez, another tenant, was inside the house during the shooting but was not shot, Fattig told the court.

According to Lopez, he saw Lozano-Sanchez enter the bedroom where a woman begged for her life. Multiple gunshots were fired afterward and a wounded man ran out.

"When Lopez looked outside the room he saw Arnoldo Lozano standing in the hallway smiling and laughing," police said as Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Lozano-Sanchez then went inside the room of another tenant and Lopez "heard cries for help from the occupants and thereafter heard the defendant shoot them," Fattig told the judge as per AP News. "He also saw the defendant exit that bedroom, smiling."

Police found a firearm under a bush near Lozano-Sanchez's residence, the report said. The suspect was denied bail by the judge during the brief hearing.