Firefighters are investigating the cause of a fire that badly damaged a boarded-up former flower shop.

Las Vegas fire officials report that several people called 911 to report the fire a little after 7:15 p.m. Tuesday at the building on Maryland Parkway near Charleston Boulevard.

Neighbors told fire investigators that someone had been working to renovate the building that was built in 1942. 

No injuries were reported. Damage was estimated at $100,000.
   
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)

Someone opened fire on Metro officers Tuesday morning, and officers are still trying to figure out who. It started around 2:30 a.m. when an officer approached two men near Lamb and Stewart.

The men ran; officers chased them and eventually caught up to one of them. That suspected admitted he was a gang member.

The second suspect went into an apartment building and fired shots. Metro says an officer involved knows the shots were aimed at him.

K-9 units and helicopters were called out but that second suspect was not found. The first suspect was arrested but is not identifying the other man.

Eyewitness News has talked to the parents of the 4-year-old boy who was found dead in their SUV Monday morning. They say Jason Rimer had been in the car nearly 17 hours before he was found. Now the boy's parents are under investigation.

Eyewitness News did get a chance to speak with the parents Tuesday. They didn't want to go on camera but say they are upset and angry at themselves for not noticing their youngest child was missing — saying 4-year-old Jason Rimer paid the price for their mistake.

A small Care Bear surrounded by candles sits outside the Rimer home in east last Vegas — a reminder of 4-year-old Jason, who was found dead inside their Excursion early Monday morning where he had been for almost 17 hours.

“Playful, very, very friendly and loved music — loved church hymns and just being around his family,” said Michael Gonzalez, a family friend.

The parents say the last time they saw Jason was in the car around 2:30 Sunday afternoon, when they came home from church. Jason's parents and five older brothers were in and out of the house the rest of the day. Nobody noticed Jason wasn't in the mix.

The parents say they don't have an explanation to why — only saying it was a horrible mistake. At one point, Jason's mother even left the home to pick up their other son from church. But instead of using the Excursion, she took her husband's truck.

“It's a tragic reality that had she gotten in her own car shortly thereafter, they would have noticed little Jason was back there. But they decided to take the pickup truck instead for gas purposes,” said Gonzalez.

Four minor children who lived in the home are now in Child Haven. CPS told the family the house was too disorderly to keep them there. Meanwhile, Metro continues their investigation.

CPS has investigated this family at least three times in the past, looking into complaints against this family — including allegations of not feeding the kids and unclean living conditions.

The family says each time, the complaints were unsubstantiated and the cases were immediately closed. They have a hearing Wednesday to see about getting their kids back.

Email your comments to Reporter Melissa Duran.

The federal Environmental Protection Agency is telling southern Nevada's franchise trash hauler to get to work sealing the long-closed Sunrise Mountain landfill.

The EPA says Republic Services of Southern Nevada is responsible for stabilizing the site pending a comprehensive final plan for the 440-acre former municipal solid waste dump 3 miles east of Las Vegas.

The order cites a washout that sent trash into the Las Vegas Wash heading to Lake Mead during storms in September 1998. At the time, the EPA cited Republic Dumpco and the Clark County for violations of the Clean Water Act and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.

The EPA says some remediation work has been done. But it faults Republic for failing to install drainage controls to minimize erosion during major storms or install an adequate groundwater monitoring system.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

Police are investigating the death of a young child. The 4-year-old boy was left in an SUV in front of the family's home on Cleveland Avenue near Sahara and Nellis.

The boy lived at a home with his parents, and he apparently had several siblings. These siblings are still at home with the parents. Detectives are still at the scene. We hope to have more details as the day progresses.

This is the first death this year attributed to a child dying inside a car. Metro said they received 76 calls last year about children being left in hot cars, but fortunately no child died as a result. 

An Amber Alert has been issued for 11-year-old Esther Malendez. She is five feet three inches tall and 110 pounds. She has long black hair and was last seen wearing a black shirt and black skirt.

She was last seen Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. at her apartment complex located at 1001 North Pecos.

She is believed to be with the mother's roommate, Jose Rangel-Martinez. He is a 28-year-old Latin male, five feet ten inches tall with a thin build, brown eyes, brown hair and has a tattoo on his left inner forearm area.

Jose also uses an alias of Manuel Zavala-Yepez. 

They were last seen in a 2003 red Chevy Cavalier four-door with the Nevada license plate of 506 UVM.

They are believed to be headed to California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho or Mexico. If you have any information, please call 828-3111 or 828-LOST (5678).