Heartstopping bodycam vid shows hero cop gun down Vegas shooter who tried to commit gym massacre before his rifle jammed
THIS IS the nerve-shredding moment when cops gunned down a shooter in Las Vegas who attempted a brutal massacre at a gym.
Pulse-pounding bodycam footage shows the exact second armed officers took out the man, who was carrying a massive rifle.
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Daniel Ortega, 34, walked into the the Las Vegas Athletic Club last Friday carrying the enormous weapon.
He initially approaches an employee at the front desk before he pacing around, surveillance footage shows.
After this, he exchanged words with another worker before suddenly raising his gun to open fire, according to cops.
He offloaded 24 rounds in the gym lobby, killing 31-year-old gym manager Edgar Quinonez and injuring another three people.
But at this point his weapon jammed, mercifully preventing him from killing anyone else.
Police believe he planned to continue his massacre had the gun not malfunctioned.
He was then seen outside the gym heading towards the car park, where armed police officers were waiting to intercept the killer.
One officer's bodycam footage shows the nerve-shredding moment the shooter was taken out.
The cop inches his weapon round the corner of the building as he approaches the scene.
In the blink of an eye, Ortega bursts into the scene still carrying the gun - at which point the cop opens fire.
At least 9 injured in shooting at Arizona steakhouse as cops hunt for multiple shooters
He subsequently died at a nearby hospital, police have said.
Cops noted that far more people could have died in the incident had Ortega's gun not jammed.
"Fortunately, this gentleman had a malfunction in his weapon, which actually saved this from being a mass casualty event," Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Assistant Sheriff Jamie Prosser said.
Officers are still working to establish a motive for the sudden violence.
Ortega worked out at the gym where the shooting took place, but there does not seem to be an immediate connection between him and the dead manager, cops have said.
It's also unclear if the other people shot and injured were employees or gymgoers.
Their conditions are not immediately known, according to reports.
Las Vegas experienced the worst mass shooting in history back in 2017.
Stephen Paddock killed 61 people, and shot more than 600, from a hotel overlooking the Route 91 Harvest music festival.
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