Las Vegas man shot by police had cellphone, not gun, report says

A Las Vegas man was shot early Friday after Metropolitan Police Department officers mistook his cellphone for a gun after the man fled a traffic stop west of the Strip, according to a report.

Wunya Lynum, 25, was shot in his right arm after he, according to an arrest report, failed officer commands to drop what was in his hands, later discovered to be a black cellphone and case, after he fled a traffic stop near Valley View Boulevard and West Twain Avenue just after 1 a.m. on Friday.

The report said Lynum was a passenger in a car that was pulled over due to lack of registration. Lynum, police said, gave an officer a false name, then ran from the vehicle, later taking refuge under a nearby parked car.

When officers found Lynum, he then crouched behind the vehicle with both hands on his cellphone so that officers believed the object to be a gun, the report said.

Lynum later told investigators that he didn’t drop his phone because he was attempting to call his girlfriend. He was treated for the gunshot wound at University Medical Center and released Friday.

According to Las Vegas Justice Court records, Lynum faces three felony counts, including assault on a protected person with use of a deadly weapon, and two misdemeanor charges related to the traffic stop and subsequent chase. One of the charges is for a probation violation.

Lynum told investigators he ran from the stopped vehicle because he had an active warrant for his arrest. An online Clark County Detention Center roster showed Lynum as an inmate at the jail as of Monday evening.

Following the incident, Metro said Martin Biorato, 30, was the officer who fired on Lynum. He was placed on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of a review of the shooting.

Biorato has been with Metro since 2022 and is assigned to the department’s Tourist Safety Division, Convention Center Area Command.