There was a shooting reported around 8:00 a.m. on Saturday at the Juke Joint bar's parking lot. North Las Vegas Police was called to the scene, where officers found two gun shot victims inside a vehicle in the rear parking lot of the bar.

A male driver was pronounced dead at the scene and a female passenger was transported to University Medical Center with life threatening injuries.

Metro officers were in the area at the time of the shooting and were able to apprehend the suspect walking a block west from the scene. Homicide detectives are still investigating this incident.  
 
If you have information regarding this shooting, contact CrimeStoppers at 702 385-5555.

There is a new man at the helm of crime fighting in North Las Vegas. Joseph Forti has been named the new police chief at the North Las Vegas Police Department, and high on his list goals is community policing and keeping kids safe at school.

Many neighborhoods in North Las Vegas are living with crime. Robbery, assaults and stolen cars are a constant problem for police. But a new plan by the new chief may turn things around.

“The children that are out late at night, that are out after curfew, it is a police problem. Or the kids that are in the gangs, it's a police problem. No, they are a community problem,” he said.

Forti's idea to bring down crime is bring in the people.

“If you don't engage the community and don't get in to the community, you're not going to be successful,” he said.

Forti has been with the North Las Vegas Police Department for almost 28 years, working as a street cop and even in narcotics. He says his experience has taught him community policing really is key.

The people on the streets and in the communities are the true eyes and ears. The new chief says it is time to plug into their resources.

“The sooner we get this really rolling, the sooner we'll make much more headway in reducing crime and solving crime,” he said.

The same is true of our schools. With a teenage daughter, he takes to heart the violence on and around campuses.

“You have a stake when you have a young child that goes go to a school, and you are thinking about their safety because there are a lot of issues that we have been dealing with,” he said.

Forti's working with the school district and his officers are answering their calls for help. He says change starts when cops make connections with students, residents and the community as a whole. When this happens, he thinks North Las Vegas will become the best city in the state.

Email your comments to Reporter Amanada Hernandez

There was a strange sighting in North Las Vegas on Wednesday morning when a group of wandering sheep were discovered.

The five sheep were found huddled together in the area of Lake Mead and Simmons. Animal control was able to capture the sheep after about 45 minutes and now they are trying to determine who owns the sheep.

Clark County school officials are hosting a series of meetings beginning at 5 p.m. today  at Del Sol High School to collect public comment about efforts to improve student achievement and community participation.

Click here for meeting schedule

Similar meetings are set tomorrow at the Northwest Careet and Technical Academy, Wednesday at Durango High School and Saturday at Sedway Middle School.

The crime spree is over for a man who caused terror at several banks and convenience stores. Enrique Hurtado is at UMC after a high speed chase led to a crash. He may have robbed seven places in just three days.

Hurtado also matched descriptions in a deadly Illinois shooting. Local FBI officials don't think Hurtado is that suspect, but they're waiting on DNA and fingerprint evidence to know for sure.

It was a bold and brazen attack on the Opera House Casino in North Las Vegas. Police say this was one of his first jobs and investigators are convinced the man in the surveillance video is Enrique Hurtado.

The suspect fired a shot into the cashier's cage before forcing his way through the window and grabbing the money. Then he fired a second shot during his getaway. Witnesses say the crime spree didn't stop there.

“He walked to the door in the back and started kicking it. Then nobody was in the cash area so they came out and he just started hitting them and throwing stuff on the floor,” said 15-year-old Ashley Silva. She and her family were inside one of the stores police believe Hurtado targeted.

“My cousin and I ran to the back of the store and sat the stuff down that we had and ran out the door. We didn't know what to do,” she said.

As she and her cousin ran for cover, her dad walked right into the robbers path.

“Guy told him, ‘If you leave, I am going to blast you.' and he showed him the gun on his hip,” said Silva.

Police say Hurtado also hit other spots, including a local CVS Pharmacy. Monday morning, employee's say the man caught on camera robbing the Opera House came in to rob them. He got away with nearly $1,400.

But police were already closing in after the robbery at the Nevada Federal Credit Union on south Nellis.

The suspect's crime spree would come to a screeching halt after a high speed chase ended with a car crash and a trip to the hospital.

The bank robbery makes Hurtado a federal suspect, a crime he's accused of committing twice in one week. Police believe he also robbed a Bank of America last Wednesday.

He faces numerous charges, including robbery with a deadly weapon.

OSHA is investigating the death of a worker at a North Las Vegas linen company. The victim worked for Mission Industries on Mayflower near Commerce.

Police say he was killed just before 10:00 p.m. Monday in what appears to be a work related accident.

Mission Industries does laundry work for most of the hotels in the valley, including the Strip resorts.

Despite Wednesday night's discussion, Eyewitness News asked if the fear of school violence is hitting home for all students? School police lieutenant Ken Young said he thinks Wednesday night's dialogue was a good start, but he isn't sure the meeting led to the answers everyone was hoping for.

Students we talked with Wednesday night said they plan to do something but we talked with some students Thursday who said the recent violence doesn't have them scared.

Dante Gusman is a high school senior in North Las Vegas. He's aware of the violence around Clark County schools, but doesn't think violence will strike his campus.

“I'm not really worried about it. It's safe. There are some of these stories about shooters, but nothing has happened to me. And that's why I don't really care about it,” said Gusman.

But many people are stunned by the recent gun violence near schools. And like the students at Wednesday night's town hall meeting, even those who have not been victimized are concerned for their safety.

“I'm worried about my safety and everyone else around me. I mean, my friends and stuff. They're not protected from anybody with weapons,” said one student who didn't want to be identified.

Lt. Young says the problems of gun violence are spread around the district. “We haven't had one particular school that's more problematic than another.”

And he adds, the threat of serious violence rarely starts with younger students.

“Middle school is a decision making time as to kids, who they're going to be, who their personality is, are they going to take the high ground. A lot of different decisions they have to make at that time,” he said.

Over the last five years, police have confiscated dozens of guns and knives from campuses. But the numbers fluctuate greatly from year to year.

Although students Wednesday night expressed fears of bullying and intimidation by schoolmates, many others have some faith in their fellow classmates.

“People at my school are stupid, but they're not that stupid that they'd pull out a gun,” said Hilary Payne, a high school freshman.

Despite the headline-making reports of increased gun violence, this year to date, police have confiscated 12 guns from school campuses. That's compared to 56 guns found last year.

Wednesday night, kids were given one way they can show their support for violence free schools. Volunteers handed out black ribbons. They say end school violence in blue letters.

The black represents a stance against gangs and violence. These ribbons were also used to honor Chris Privett Wednesday night. But organizers hope everyone in the community will begin wearing these ribbons to show their zero-tolerance stance on violence.

Local law enforcement arrested 10 people and say they've busted two auto theft rings.

The Viper Auto Theft Task Force involves officers from Metro, North Las Vegas, Henderson and the Nevada Highway Patrol.

The suspects were taken into custody as police acted on tips and set up sting operations.

Police are still trying to track down two more suspects in connection with the theft rings — they are looking for Jesus Viera and Cesar Vasquez.

At Wednesday night's meeting, the school district will discuss a new report on school safety. That report says the Clark County School District should get metal detectors but that they'll only work as part of a larger school safety program.

The National Association of School Safety and Law Enforcement Officers filed the report after assessing the Clark County School District last month.

The school district has rejected the idea of metal detectors in the past — but may re-visit the issue after recent incidents involving kids with guns near schools.

The principal of Canyon Springs High School has been asking for metal detectors for nearly three years. He says kids have been carrying guns on campus, and he knows first hand after seeing a student shoot a classmate in the neck back in 1990.

Walking through Canyon Springs High School, you see orderly students, clean halls and a top notch magnet program. You don't see the threat of violence Ronan Matthew has seen in his three years as principal here.

“We've had several guns on campus, loaded,” he said.

The 30-year Clark County Schools veteran has been asking for metal detectors — not just to protect his 2,600 students, but for the safety of all students in Clark County. But he says, school system administration wouldn't listen.

“Seems to me that the superintendent doesn't feel that he has the responsibility to listen to people like me that are in the field,” said Principal Matthew.

In the last several years, the number of guns school police confiscated in Clark County schools has fluctuated. From a high of 84 in the 2004-2005 school year, the number of guns police found was cut nearly in half just one year later.

Now we are at a new low, with school police confiscating only 12 guns so far this year. But one is always too many.

“It's disconcerting when you have to take a weapon from a student, and I think one way to stop that is to have metal detectors. The kids have to walk through metal detectors when they're coming into the building,” said Principal Matthew.

Canyon Springs already has a high tech surveillance system, but cameras will only catch a gun after it is already on the campus. Principal Matthew wants to stop students and adults from ever getting them inside.

“I think you have to be proactive. You can't just say 'don't do it' and they follow our directions. That's not how society is anymore,” he said.

Principal Matthew said he wants large, walk-though metal detectors, but the security consultants who assessed Clark County schools last month suggested hand-held wands that can be used discretely in the hallways instead.

As for how much metal detectors cost for each school, the overall cost is something that will be discussed in the meeting. But the report does say the most up-to-date handheld detectors run $100 to $150 each.

A former candidate for Clark County Sheriff and controversial owner of a local helicopter company that filed for bankruptcy last month was supposed to make his first appearence in federal bankruptcy court today.

Jerry Airola didn't attend the hearing, but hundreds of former Silver State students were there.

Close to 200 former students showed up at the Foley Federal Building, but the group was larger than expected so the bankruptcy hearing had to be moved to a larger room across the street at the George Federal Courthouse.

Students from Las Vegas and as far away as California and Washington state wanted to be here.

They are among the more than 2,000 students from Silver State who were shocked to learn their training was coming to an end and that Silver State Helicopters was filing for bankruptcy.

Jamie Antoni is from Las Vegas and took out a $70,000 loan to pay for the school. He was at the hearing to learn more about his options after Airola pulled the plug.

“I want to find out, get as much information as I can because there's a substantial amount of money involved from these individual people. Seventy grand a head. That's a lot of money. If it turns out we're expected to pay that money back, I want to find out where it went. Their claiming the money is all gone. Where did it all go?” said Antoni.

Many of these students have hired independent lawyers. They were also on hand, listening to what may happen after the hearing.

Email your comments to Reporter Chris Saldana