Sparks police bodycam footage shows shootout ending in death of Anthony Wade, 3 officers shot
By: The Sparks Police Department is releasing new details about an officer involved shooting that occurred in the area of Rock and Greenbrae and injured three officers.
The incident began around 1:40 p.m. on March 29 when an officer with the Sparks Police Department initiated a traffic stop on a Ford Expedition with no license plates in the 1500 block of Greenbrae Drive.
Sparks Police say the officer tried to make contact with the driver, later identified as Anthony Wade of Reno. The body cam video from the officer shows Wade immediately pull out a gun and shoot at the officer through the driver’s side window, striking him, causing multiple injuries to his neck and scalp.
The officer then returned fire before Wade drove off, headed east on Greenbrae before running a stop sign at the intersection with Rock Blvd. A U-Haul truck headed south hit the Expedition in the intersection, disabling Wade’s car.
Wade then fled the scene of the crash on foot. The officer headed east, where a witness told him he saw a person with a gun.
Sparks Police got a 911 call that a black male adult had forcibly entered a home in the 1400 block of Prospect Avenue. The caller said she had been in the kitchen cooking when Wade entered her home with a gun. The woman told dispatch she used a knife to cut Wade, who then fled out of the back of the residence.
Officers from multiple agencies set up a perimeter and a shelter in place order was given to people in the immediate area. The Sparks Police Department, Reno Police Department, and the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office then initiated a door-to-door search for Wade.
An investigation revealed that, as this was happening, Wade entered another residence and took a woman hostage. Officers were able to make contact with that woman around 2:00 p.m., who was trying to leave the area in a vehicle in the 1300 block of Prospect.
Officers told the driver that there was a shelter in place order and that they needed to go back inside. She then drove back into her garage, closing the door behind her. Officers later learned she had been taken hostage by Wade, and that he had forced her to leave the search area as he hid in the rear passenger compartment of the car.
A deputy with the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office then saw the kidnapped woman lying in the floor of the doorway. As the deputy identified himself as police, Wade started shooting from inside the residence, hitting the deputy and a Sparks police officer. Officers returned fire and dragged the victim to safety.
Wade fled out the house’s backyard, jumping over a fence, and landing in a neighbor’s yard in the 1300 block of Greenbrae. That homeowner then called 911 at around 2:15 p.m., saying she was hiding in her bathroom after Wade broke into her house.
Wade then fled out of the back of the house, attempting to hide behind a shed in the backyard. About 15 minutes later, the victim exited her house without incident.
A short time later, Wade reentered her home through the back door. Crisis negotiators and SWAT were then called to the scene, where they tried to get Wade to leave without further incident for around five hours. Wade did not respond.
At around 7:30 p.m., SWAT entered the house’s garage. Wade, who had been hiding, started firing at the officers, hitting the gun of one of the officers. The SWAT officers then continued to fire at Wade as they exited the garage.
After police were not able to get a response from Wade, they reentered the garage, where he was found dead. An investigation revealed Wade to be in possession of a .40 caliber, semiautomatic handgun, with an extended magazine.
The Sparks Police Department says the entire incident lasted around 8 and half hours.
The officers who were injured were taken to a local hospital, where they were treated for their injuries and released.