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On Wednesday, a Las Vegas vape store owner stabbed an alleged assailant during a robbery attempt, and the footage of the incident spread online.
In the video, Jonathan Nguyen, the 22-year-old owner of Smokestrom Smoke Shop in Sahara Avenue Suite in Las Vegas, can be seen talking to the two suspected robbers at his store.
After the situation escalated, Nguyen could be seen using a long blade to stab him. Las Vegas authorities responded to reports of the robbery soon after. The incident is still currently under investigation.
Las Vegas Vape Store stabbing occurred in broad daylight
According to TMZ, Jonathan Nguyen's suspicions arose when two men entered his store at 3.25 PM wearing ski masks. After he asked them to leave, one of them grabbed a tip jar, which he ignored.
In an interview with the New York Post, he said:
“I asked them first nicely to leave but the guy took my tip jar, which was fine. When they came back and tried to take some more, that’s when it escalated.”
After the men allegedly crossed the counter in an attempt to take more, Nguyen began his assault, grabbing one of the suspects and stabbing him at least seven times. He later told authorities he was forced to do so in self-defense.
Nguyen told the New York Post:
“I remember him saying, ‘Please don’t let me die. He said he was sorry. By that point, he took off his mask himself. I was trying to get on the phone with the police when he was trying to talk to me."
He added:
"I just ran and wanted to make sure the police and ambulance would get here on time.”
According to Las Vegas authorities, it was later revealed that the alleged robber stabbed in the incident was only 17 years old.
Violent crime in Las Vegas
As per the Nevada Independent, while many parts of Nevada have seen an overall decline in crime, other regions have seen a rise in murders, assaults, and robberies since 2021, making the Las Vegas vape shop stabbing another incident in a series of crimes that the state has experienced.
While the Covid-19 lockdown influenced a declining crime rate in 2020, violent crimes have only increased in several parts of the State since then.
Ernesto Lopez, a research specialist with the Council on Criminal Justice, said that such changes could occur for many reasons. In an interview with the Nevada Independent, he said that identifying explanations for social phenomena is incredibly nuanced.
He said:
"Seasonings, flavors, they all make the final product, and each contributes their own amounts to the flavor."
He continued:
"And that's kind of what it is when it comes to a lot of crime, even violent crime. There are all these different things, especially during this period, that are co-occurring. And it makes it really difficult to separate those effects.”
From another perspective, a rise in crime rates can also reflect an improvement in the overall law and order situation, as it could mean citizens are more willing to report incidents to the authorities.
