Object thrown into southeast Las Vegas apartment starts fire

An unknown object thrown through an apartment window set fire to curtains and prompted a building evacuation at a southeast valley complex early Tuesday.

About 1:40 a.m., Las Vegas police and the Clark County Fire Department were called to the Paradise Square Apartments at 4785 Harrison Drive, near East Tropicana Avenue.

Arriving units saw “large amounts of smoke and flames” coming from the first floor of the two-story apartment complex, according to the Fire Department.

Eight apartments in the building were evacuated while firefighters worked to put the fire out. The Fire Department said the blaze, which did not spread to other units, was out by 1:46 a.m.

Police Lt. David Gordon said authorities do not know what was thrown through the apartment’s glass window.

“It’s certainly looking like an intentional act,” Gordon said. “We’re not going to rule anything out.”

Police are investigating, but no arrests had been made as of Tuesday afternoon, Las Vegas police spokesman Michael Rodriguez said.

The police bomb squad also was called out to the complex early Tuesday to determine what was thrown into the apartment, Gordon said.

Two women and an infant in the apartment escaped, and the American Red Cross is assisting them with temporary shelter. The two women were not injured, but the infant was taken to an area hospital as a precaution.

Review-Journal reporter Rio Lacanlale contributed to this story. Contact Mike Shoro at mshoro@reviewjournal.com. Follow @mike_shoro on Twitter.