LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — A North Las Vegas man is accused of opening fire on his former co-workers over a week after he was fired for attacking them at a job site, according to an arrest report.
John Garcia, 46, faces several charges, including five counts of assault with a deadly weapon, five counts of attempted murder with a deadly weapon, and two counts of possession of a gun by a prohibited person, records showed.
On April 23, around 9:25 a.m., police responded to the scene near Mountain’s Edge and Durango after Garcia’s coworkers filed a report against him. When officers arrived, they spoke with the construction site foreman, who said he was working when he saw one of his employees, Garcia, with a bloody lip, police said.
Garcia then said “[Expletive] you! I am going to catch you and your family on the street,” the report said. The coworker then said “Let’s handle it now,” and Garcia walked away and the co-worker went back to work, the report said.
In the middle of the intersection, a group of employees were talking about another employee who had just bought a firearm. Garcia then asked if the employee really knew how to handle a gun, to which the employee said yes, and Garcia responded, “We are about to find out,” according to the arrest report.
Garcia and the employee began to exchange words, and at some point, Garcia punched his co-worker, resulting in the co-worker hitting him back. The other employees broke up the fight and Garcia walked to his truck, got in, and began to drive toward the group of employees. Garcia stopped short of the curb, got out, pulled out a knife and lunged toward his coworkers, the report said.
All four of his co-workers were able to stay away from him, and Garcia ultimately gave up and drove away, police said.
Due to that incident, Garcia was fired, and the job site was shut down for the day. After that incident, Garcia went to another job site near Elkhorn and Bradley, where he made threats to his co-workers and their families before performing a tire burnout in the intersection, according to police.
Garcia was then involved in a hit-and-run crash where he left the scene without checking on the other vehicle, police said.
Garcia’s co-workers said they were aware of his violent past with Las Vegas paving and other incidents, according to the report.
Over a week later on May 2, surveillance footage showed a dark-colored pickup truck drive up to the construction zone, followed by loud gunshots. The employees in the video scattered and one employee used a handgun to fire back at the truck, police said.
Police later arrested Garcia in his black pickup truck and discovered that he had a gunshot wound to the shoulder. Police said it appeared that Garcia spilled beer on his clothing and found a can of Budweiser in his truck. Police also found an AR-15 inside the truck, according to the report.
Garcia told police that his actions were because his family was “hurting/struggling” and that his shortcomings were because of gambling and living a bad life, while his work hours were continuously being cut. He also told police that his co-workers were “yapping all the time” and giving him a hard time, the report said.
Garcia said he was glad the incident wasn’t more serious, but he didn’t know what else to do, stating “I messed up,” police said.
According to the arrest report, Garcia’s wife told police that he was upset about losing his job and rationalized his anger due to being teased on the job site for the complexion of his skin and his inability to speak Spanish.
Garcia is a two-time convicted felon out of Nevada with convictions from 1995 and 2023 for burglary and attempting to own a firearm by a prohibited person.
Garcia was taken to the Clark County Detention Center and he is scheduled to appear in court on May 20, records showed.
