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Hawaii woman A 29-year-old woman from Maui was shot and killed this morning at the Harrah's Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas as hotel security attempted to apprehend two suspects.
killed in Las Vegas
She is shot as hotel guards
try to arrest two men known for
stealing from casino patronsBy Jaymes K. Song
Star-BulletinThe Haiku woman was identified as Heather M. Vitarelli, according to the Las Vegas coroner's office. Her family has been notified of the death.
Vitarelli was a 1988 graduate of Baldwin High School. She was a senior at California State University-Hayward and had just finished summer school, the university said.
Vitarelli died inside the main casino floor from a single gunshot wound to the back, police said. A Harrah's security guard was also shot and is in stable condition at a local hospital.
The shooting took place after two men, who are known for stealing purses and change buckets from casino patrons, were spotted on hotel security cameras this morning, said homicide Lt. Wayne Petersen of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police.
When hotel security guards attempted to apprehend one man, he broke free, ran away and was tackled on the casino floor at about 1 a.m., Las Vegas time.
While several security offices struggled with the suspect and tried to place his hands behind his back, the suspect grabbed a .40-caliber handgun from his waistband and fired at least two shots, Petersen said.
One round hit a 43-year-old Harrah' security guard in the stomach, and the other struck Vitarelli in the back, who was walking or standing about 35 feet away from the gunman.
Security was able to pry the gun away from the 32-year-old alleged gunman, Stephen Mullen from Texas.
His 31-year-old partner, Michael Frimmel, was apprehended in a different location.
They were booked for murder with a weapon, attempted murder with a weapon and face other charges, Petersen said.
The murder weapon was a stolen gun, he added.
"By all accounts, she was an excellent student," said Kim Huggett, a spokesman for Cal State-Hayward. "She was a human development major."
Vitarelli lived in Concord, Calif.
She was staying at Harrah's and visiting Las Vegas with friends who reported her family is in Hawaii, police said.
"It's a great tragedy for all of us. She was a wonderful human being," said Stuart MacKenzie, the owner of The Body Shop at Whalers Village in Kaanapali, where Vitarelli worked three years in the late 1990s.
"You wouldn't want for a better manager," MacKenzie said.
Petersen said Vitarelli lived upcountry with her grandfather while she was working at the shop.
Harrah's officials wouldn't return calls this morning about the shooting.
Star-Bulletin reporter Gary Kubota
contributed to this report.