Rapper’s Relative Found Dead After Standoff

LAS VEGAS —  The brother-in-law of rap performer Snoop Dogg was found dead Tuesday in a barricaded apartment, 11 hours after wounding a Las Vegas police officer in a struggle on the street.

Police were investigating whether Jermaine Fuller died of a self-inflicted wound or had been shot while fighting with the officer, during which police said Fuller’s gun was fired at least twice.

Las Vegas police Lt. Vincent Cannito said officers did not shoot at Fuller during the initial confrontation, during the overnight standoff or when a SWAT team entered the apartment a few miles from the Las Vegas Strip.

David Fox, lawyer for Snoop Dogg, whose real name is Calvin Broadus, said Fuller was the brother of Broadus’ wife, Shante.

“The family is grieving over this sad news,” Fox told Associated Press.

The incident began about 11:20 p.m. Monday when an unidentified man flagged down a Las Vegas police officer and said a man had confronted him and fired a gun. The man was not wounded.

The officer approached Fuller near a bus stop and a struggle ensued during which at least two shots were fired, authorities said.

The unidentified officer was grazed on the side of his head, Cannito said. He also was shot in the chest, but was protected by a bulletproof vest, police said.

“The bulletproof vest ... saved his life,” Lt. David O’Leary said.

Another officer, in a patrol car, had a bullet strike the radio microphone clipped to his shoulder. He was not injured.

Cannito said the gunman ran to an apartment complex near the University of Nevada, Las Vegas campus and forced his way inside, taking an unidentified tenant hostage. The male hostage escaped about an hour later by diving out a first-floor window.

O’Leary said the police SWAT team entered the apartment Tuesday morning, using tear gas and flash-bang grenades. He said about 40 residents had been evacuated from the complex, and that no officers or neighbors were injured.

The officer wounded in the initial confrontation was in serious condition at University Medical Center in Las Vegas, a hospital spokesman said. He was expected to recover.