LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — A man prohibited from owning a gun allegedly held up a rifle and said, “Say hello to my little friend” before firing into an apartment wall, killing a boy and injuring his brother, according to documents the 8 News Now Investigators obtained Monday.
Earlier this month, Las Vegas Metro police announced they had identified Eliazar Quintero, 41, as the suspect in the fatal March 7 shooting. Quintero was serving a prison sentence on drug and gun convictions. He now faces a second-degree murder charge for the stray bullet that struck the two boys, police said.
The shooting happened in an apartment on the 5300 block of Boulder Highway, south of Harmon Avenue. According to police, a stray bullet went through the wall into a neighboring apartment and struck 9-year-old Sir’ Armani Clark in the head, killing him. His 10-year-old brother was also hit but did not suffer life-threatening injuries.
While investigating the shooting, officers found a bullet hole in an apartment wall, documents obtained Monday said. Officers “conducted a welfare check” on a neighboring, unoccupied apartment, finding a “single apparent corresponding bullet hole,” they said.
Detectives then suspected someone fired a gunshot with the bullet passing through the wall and hitting the two boys, documents said.
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Quintero’s friend told police she was in the apartment when Quintero “got up and went into his bedroom for several minutes,” documents said. He then returned with a rifle in hand, “shouldered it, pointing it at the south wall and said, ‘Say hello to my little friend,’” as he fired it.
“Eliazar appeared shocked the rifle had discharged,” the friend told police, according to documents. “Immediately following the shooting, [the friend] heard the neighbor from the south apartment screaming and assumed someone had been shot as a result of Eliazar discharging the rifle. Eliazar immediately packed the rifle in a long, black cloth bag and fled the apartment.”
One of the child’s parents told police they witnessed “a heavy-set Hispanic male” exit the apartment and asked “if a child was shot,” documents said. The parents said, “Yes,” and the man then ran away, police said.
Police found the lease agreement for the apartment and the tenant. The tenant told police he was subletting the apartment to a friend named “Carlos” who sold drugs and who matched the description of the heavy-set man, police said. Police said “Carlos” was actually Quintero.
“During midafternoon on March 7, 2023, Eliazar called [the tenant] and asked [the tenant] to call [maintenance] due to there being an issue with the apartment’s refrigerator,” documents said. “[The tenant] called maintenance, then called Eliazar to update him. Approximately 30 minutes later, [the tenant] received a frantic call from Eliazar… Eliazar stated, ‘Some [expletive] went down. [Expletive] went down at apartment,” documents said.
Video from the complex later showed a man matching Quintero’s description getting into a car matching a prior description from a January theft and driving away, documents said. Police later located Quintero’s debit card in the apartment.
According to court records, Quintero was supposed to be sentenced on a charge of ownership or possession of a firearm by a prohibited person on March 8, a day after the shooting, but failed to show up in court. Quintero was currently serving a 2-to-5-year sentence on a prior charge.
On March 9, two days after the shooting, police took Quintero into custody on the bench warrant for skipping court, documents said.
Another friend told police, “he tried to sell a firearm to someone inside his apartment and accidentally discharged the firearm,” documents said. “The bullet went through Eliazar’s wall and into the neighbor’s apartment, striking the child. Eliazar gathered multiple firearms from his apartment and fled, ultimately arriving at [the friend’s] apartment.”
After the shooting, Quintero reportedly contacted another friend and said, “I’m in trouble. I need a place to hide,” documents said.
In their report, police noted the line: “Say hello to my little friend,” “is a direct movie quote from ‘Scarface,’ a 1983 movie in which Tony Montana, played by Al Pacino stated, ‘Say hello to my little friend,’ while holding a machine gun prior to going on a killing spree.”
Quintero remained in custody in prison as of Monday. He had yet to appear in justice court on his new charges.
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