Bard
09-23-2005, 11:58 PM
Updated: 07:23 PM EDT
Driver Who Ploughed Into Crowd Says He Saw Demons
LAS VEGAS (Sept. 23) - A man suspected of killing two tourists and injuring 12 others on the Las Vegas Strip told police he steered his car into the crowd on the sidewalk because they were staring at him like demons.
Stephen M. Ressa, 27, also told police he saw people with their hands in their pockets and thought they might be armed with guns, according to an arrest report obtained Friday by The Associated Press.
"They were staring at him like they were `demons,"' the report said. "Ressa admitted he became angry at them, and intentionally steered the vehicle toward them."
Ressa, of Rialto, Calif., was arrested Wednesday evening shortly after the car barreled through the crowd and crashed into a cement barrier in front of Bally's hotel-casino. He remained jailed without bail on suspicion of murder and attempted murder.
During two interviews with police, Ressa told detectives he had borrowed his mother's car and drove to Las Vegas, where he spent a few days gambling at various casinos and slept in the car.
Although Ressa told police he had a drug and alcohol problem, he said he had used neither Wednesday. He told police he had been prescribed medication, but had stopped taking it.
09/23/05 19:06 EDT
Driver Who Ploughed Into Crowd Says He Saw Demons
LAS VEGAS (Sept. 23) - A man suspected of killing two tourists and injuring 12 others on the Las Vegas Strip told police he steered his car into the crowd on the sidewalk because they were staring at him like demons.
Stephen M. Ressa, 27, also told police he saw people with their hands in their pockets and thought they might be armed with guns, according to an arrest report obtained Friday by The Associated Press.
"They were staring at him like they were `demons,"' the report said. "Ressa admitted he became angry at them, and intentionally steered the vehicle toward them."
Ressa, of Rialto, Calif., was arrested Wednesday evening shortly after the car barreled through the crowd and crashed into a cement barrier in front of Bally's hotel-casino. He remained jailed without bail on suspicion of murder and attempted murder.
During two interviews with police, Ressa told detectives he had borrowed his mother's car and drove to Las Vegas, where he spent a few days gambling at various casinos and slept in the car.
Although Ressa told police he had a drug and alcohol problem, he said he had used neither Wednesday. He told police he had been prescribed medication, but had stopped taking it.
09/23/05 19:06 EDT