A Las Vegas police officer was shot on Sunday in an ambush-style attack. A shooter who is now in custoday, walked up to a police car and opened fire injuring one of the officers in the two-man police cruiser.
The two officers were inside a patrol car and were responding to a disturbance call at a retail store when the suspect walked up to the patrol vehicle and started shooting,according to a report by Fox5Vegas.
After striking one of the police officers with a bullet in the hand, the suspect ran a short distance and then surrendered, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. The shooting took place near the intersection of Tropicana and Nellis Boulevard.
Las Vegas Metro police said their officers fired no shots and the suspect was taken into custody without incident. He dropped the gun after a short foot chase, according to Metro Undersheriff Kevin McMahill.
Officials stated the as yet unidentified shooter was using a Springfield semi-automatic pistol. The officer’s injury was not considered to be life threatening.
A witness to the shooting, Robert Benjamin, told the Review-Journal, “He didn’t resist or put up a fight.” Benjamin had been “flying a sign for Jesus” on the corner and heard three shots that were fired by the suspect. FOX5 Vegas – KVVU
“We did not fire a shot back at this suspect in this incident,” McMahill told reportersaccording to LasVegasNow. “That shows you a lot about how it is, that these officers are going out there and being attacked while they’re sitting in a police car, and we didn’t fire a shot back at them — remarkable restraint shown by my police.”
LasVegasNow captured this image of a possible suspect in custody. He appeared to be handcuffed in the back seat of a patrol car. (Video Screenshot/LasVegasNow – CBS 8)
Officials said all officers have been riding in two-man units since an officer involved shooting last Friday. In that shooting, an officer was shot in the leg while responding to a burglary report, according to Fox News. Earlier this week, the sheriff sent out a memo to officers warning them to take extra precautions.
This ambush-style shooting comes just over one week from the execution of Harris County Deputy Sheriff Darren Goforth, as reported by Breitbart Texas. The Texas deputy was filling his patrol vehicle at a Chevron station when he was gunned down in cold-blood.
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