Shooting leaves Reno fearful of “wild west” stereotype

Jun 7th, 2008 by crazynevada

The Reno Gazette-Journal is reporting today that one man is dead after a late Friday shooting and two more are being sought, one as a witness and one as a murder suspect, according to the Reno Police Department.

The man who was killed was in the area of a fight at 35 N. Edison Way off Mill Street near McCarran Boulevard, police said. His name is being withheld pending notification of next of kin.

Residents near the area when the shooting happened were surprised by the brutality of the crime.

“We thought we had moved beyond these 1849-style shootouts but apparently not,” said Reno resident George Hackman. “The last thing Reno needs is a return to the wild-west stereotype. I mean, we have a real nice image to protect in this city.”

Police said Leonard Carl McCaskill and Rodney Morris met on North Edison Way to fight and each was accompanied by a male friend. During the fight McCaskill got a shotgun from a nearby business and shot the victim, who was not fighting but who had accompanied Morris, police said. Police said both McCaskill and Morris fled after the shooting and they are looking for them.

Police arrived at about 11:36 p.m. to find the man who had been shot on the ground in front of a pick up truck.

Police said they want to question Morris as a witness.

Police said McCaskill is being sought for suspicion of murder. They described McCaskill as white, 6 feet tall, 210 pounds with an amazingly scumbagish look about him.

McCaskill may be with Mary Beth Abbott, who looks like a trashy skank, police said.

McCaskill was seen leaving in a mid 1980s faded red Toyota standard cab four-wheel-drive pick up.

While police have been unable to locate the alleged perpetrator and witness, the Reno Gazette-Journal was successful in getting the interested persons pose for glamour photos, seen here, just after the crime. They haven’t been seen since.