Incredible footage shows moment a brazen armed robber, 49, is shot dead by four cops as he tries to hold up a car outside the Bellagio seconds after robbing the hotel's casino poker cage
Shocking footage shows the moment a brazen armed robber tries to carjack a Mercedes before being gunned down by police in a shootout at the Bellagio on Friday.
Michael Charles Cohen, 49, is seen leaving the Las Vegas hotel and casino and accosting a woman driving a black Mercedes just before the shootout took place around 9.45pm.
Four police officers notice the commotion and rush over to Cohen, who fires at them, hitting an officer in the chest.
Footage shows 49-year-old Michael Charles Cohen approaching the woman's Mercedes and trying to get into it in front of the Bellagio on Friday night
Four officers notice the commotion and rush over to the man, who starts firing at the policemen
'This could have been very tragic for our officers, as well as citizens within our community, or that lady who was in that car,' Charles Hank, Assistant Sheriff, explained in a press conference.
Cohen (pictured in a previous mugshot) managed to hit one of the officers in the chest
'Imagine had someone been in the other car, it could have been an unfortunate event.'
Prior to the attempted carjacking, Cohen had tried to get away in a white vehicle but he couldn't find the keys for it.
Police believe Cohen is also responsible for the Bellagio robbery in 2017. Both disguises consisted of a black beanie, jacket and glasses.
In the 2017 robbery, the thief approached a poker cage and demanded money from the employee.
Cohen is a felon, having been convicted of two counts of bank robbery in 1999 and two more counts in 2008.
He had been previously arrested for bank robbery, kidnapping, carjacking, possession of narcotics paraphernalia, possession of stolen property and a plethora of traffic charges.
Police described him as being 5'7" and 185lbs.
Cohen had walked into the Vegas casino on Friday and robbed the poker cage at gunpoint. He then fled out of the north entrance with cash and casino chips.
Unfortunately for the robber, the Bellagio Hotel & Casino was already crawling with police that night, as they were investigating an unrelated missing child case.
Officers caught up with the suspect outside in the valet lot where he was attempting to steal a vehicle.
Cohen had walked into the Vegas casino on Friday and robbed the poker cage at gunpoint. He then fled out of the north entrance with cash and casino chips. He is seen above in a Facebook photo
Prior to the attempted carjacking, Cohen had tried to get away in a white vehicle but he couldn't find the keys for it
Police believe that Cohen is responsible for the Bellagio robbery in 2017. Similar disguises were used in both
The officers told him to get on the ground, but he refused. The suspect shot one round with a Smith & Wesson Bodyguard 380, police say, before he was shot in the head.
'The officer had his bulletproof vest on, which probably saved his life,' Capt. Nichole Splinter of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said during a briefing.
Cohen and the injured officer were taken to the hospital where the wounded casino robber was initially in critical condition.
The suspect's death was confirmed by a police spokesman, Officer Aden OcampoGomez, at around 3am Saturday. The officer who was hit in the vest was treated and released.
Video taken by Twitter user Andrew Badecker shortly after the incident from inside the crowded poker room shows gamblers largely unaware that the robbery and shootout took place as an officer attempts to ask questions of potential witnesses.
The officer's shirt is seen here. He was shot in the chest by the suspect
The bulletproof vest that saved the officer is seen above
The Smith & Wesson Bodyguard 380 Cohen used in the shooting is pictured
'No one noticed,' Badecker responds to the Las Vegas uniformed cop trying to take statements from his table.
The cage area in the poker room that was robbed is where the casino cashiers exchange chips and tokens for cash.
'Going to be a long night at #Bellagio. Poker cage robbed, @LVMPD shot the robber outside, poker room on lockdown,' user Rick Fuller tweeted with a photo of police tape surrounding the poker room cage and a Las Vegas police officer standing by.
Twitter user Robert Fuller, @Gamblindude, posted this image of a Las Vegas police officer with police tape placed around chairs to cordon off the cage area of the Belaggio's poker room on Friday night
