Police said on Sunday that a man sitting at the back of a public bus on the Las Vegas Strip started shooting “for no apparent reason” as passengers got off at a stop in the heart of the tourism corridor, killing one man.

Police said 55-year-old Rolando Cardenas was accused in the shooting. Authorities said he surrendered peacefully after a standoff inside the double-decker bus that lasted more than four hours on Saturday.

Cardenas was booked into jail on suspicion of murder, attempted murder, burglary and opening fire on the bus. An attorney for Cardenas could not immediately be found.

The bus had stopped on the Strip near the Cosmopolitan hotel-casino. Police said passengers were leaving when Cardenas stood up and fired several rounds from a handgun.

Two people nearby were struck, including a Montana man who died. The Clark County coroner’s office identified the victim as Gary Breitling, 57, of Sidney, Montana. He died at a hospital shortly after the gunfire was reported.

Another victim suffered injuries and was hospitalized but was expected to live. Both victims were seated in the back with Cardenas, police said.

The suspect is taken away after surrendering. Photograph: L.E. Baskow/AP

It was not known how many people were on the bus at the time of the shooting, as bystanders fled. Police have started a hotline seeking to hear what those passengers witnessed.

Because authorities did not know if more victims were inside, crisis negotiators, robots and armored vehicles surrounded the bus. Officers swept into casinos to warn tourists to hunker down until further notice, leaving normally bustling pedestrian areas and a road notorious for taxi-to-taxi traffic completely empty.

Visitors also hid out inside some of the other prominent hotel-casino properties, including the Bellagio, Paris, Planet Hollywood and Bally’s, which also hold restaurants, shops and attractions.