Surveillance video of a man wanted in the killing of a retired police officer outside Wild Horse Pass Hotel and Casino on Dec. 24, 2015.(Photo: Gila River Indian Community Police Department)

Gila River Indian Community police are looking for a  gunman in a high-profile murder at Wild Horse Pass Hotel and Casino on Christmas Eve.

Police said Friday afternoon that an ex-convict, whom they originally named as a person of interest in the case, was cleared after numerous tips came in from the public during the day.

Police say  a man fatally shot retired Bakersfield, Calif., police Officer Frank Pascua, 52, carjacked a witness and fled Wild Horse Pass Hotel and Casino at about 9 p.m. Thursday.

The shooting occurred in the parking lot close to the entrance of the busy casino, Gila River Detective Robert Hawkes said. The  gunman then stole a vehicle belonging to another person, who had stopped to help after the shooting, police said.

Authorities said the man drove off in that vehicle, which they did not describe. He remains at large, while the Gila River police and other agencies look for him.

A photo provided by police shows the man sought in a fatal shooting Dec. 24, 2015, outside Wild Horse Pass Hotel and Casino on the Gila River Reservation. (Photo: Gila River Indian Community Police Department)

The  man is considered armed and dangerous, police said.

Photos released by police show a man with short cropped dark hair and numerous tattoos around his neck and upper torso.

They said the shooting was "the only incident of its kind" to ever occur on any of the community's three casinos. Police called it a "random act of violence."

Pascua retired in 2003 after a 6½-year career with the Bakersfield police, said that department's Lt. Allan Abney. Pascua worked in the department's traffic division until his career was cut short by a traffic accident, he added.

Detective Vanessa Turner is asking anyone with information to contact her at at 520-610-9000 or Hawkes at 520-610-2791.

Gila River Indian Community police are asking for the public's help to find the suspect in the murder of a retired police officer outside of Wild Horse Pass Hotel and Casino on Christmas Even, Dec. 24, 2015. (Photo: Nick Oza/The Republic)

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