Gunman Stalked Victims in Vegas Market, Survivor Says

A gunman who killed four people in a supermarket shooting rampage methodically stalked his victims as a hunter would stalk his prey, a survivor said Wednesday.

“I close my eyes and I can see him standing there with that shotgun just before he aims the shotgun at me,” said the witness, who requested anonymity. “He’s got that stupid smirk on his face.”

The man was one of those allegedly fired upon by 23-year-old Zane Michael Floyd during a predawn shooting rampage at an Albertsons supermarket two blocks west of the Strip June 3.

In an interview with Associated Press on Wednesday, the survivor said he and three store employees climbed into a cramped compressor room in the back of the store and watched as the gunman scoured the aisles for more victims.

“We could see the gunman walking by, a deliberate, quiet walk, sweeping the gun from side to side, like a hunter stalking his prey,” the survivor said.

Floyd has been charged with four counts of murder, four counts of attempted murder, five counts of sexual assault, one count of kidnapping and one count of burglary.

He was arraigned before Justice of the Peace James Bixler on Wednesday and a preliminary hearing was set for June 25. Public Defender Curtis Brown said he has not discussed a plea with Floyd.

Prosecutors say they will seek the death penalty in the case.

The sexual assault and kidnapping charges stem from an incident 90 minutes before the attack at the grocery store.

An employee of an escort service said she was called to Floyd’s home, where she was bound with tape and raped at gunpoint. Police say the employee told workers at the escort service that a man identified as “Zane” bragged of having 19 bullets, with plans to kill the next 19 people he saw.

Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Sgt. Kevin Manning confirmed Wednesday that Floyd had a “beef” with his girlfriend the evening before the shootings.

“The girlfriend wanted to go home [from a local casino] and he wanted to stay, so he gave her the keys and she left,” Manning said. The girlfriend has not been identified.

The survivor said his ordeal began when he stopped by the store on his way home from work as a dealer in a local casino. He was waiting for a cashier at the checkout stand when he heard a gunshot.

“I knew immediately what it was,” he said, pausing to compose himself. “I didn’t see the person shot, just the horrible, horrible sound of a gunshot echoing through the store. Just that sound of death.”

The gunman shot an employee in the entryway to the store, then walked inside and opened fire on other employees.

“I looked up and out of the vestibule steps this guy with a shaved head,” the witness said. “He has this smirk on his face, and he’s holding this shotgun across his body. I saw him about the same time he spots me. I took off running trying to find an emergency exit in the back.”

The survivor said he heard a second shot he believes was meant for him. It ripped through a soft drink display.

“He just wanted to kill people,” he said. “I thought I was dead. God, I thought I was dead.”

The survivor said he ran through the store yelling to some of the 25 employees and customers inside, warning, “Big guy, shotgun! Big guy, shotgun!”

The survivor joined three employees in scrambling up a ladder to the compressor room. They disconnected the lights in the cramped quarters and grabbed lengths of pipe, hoping to fend off the attacker if he found them.

The gunman was walking near the room when the survivor dropped a pipe.

“I was sure I had killed us at that point,” he recounted.

He said the four cowered in the compressor room for 30 minutes before someone outside opened the door. The four inside were fearful it was the gunman, and were euphoric when they discovered that it was a policeman searching the store with dogs.

“I ran my hand over his badge, grabbed onto his bulletproof vest,” the survivor recalled.