Ambush results in 2nd Las Vegas officer shot in 3 days - FOX5 Vegas - KVVU

Police said a gunman ambushed two officers sitting in their patrol vehicle in the east Las Vegas Valley on Sunday, resulting in an injury to one of them.

Undersheriff Kevin McMahill, of Metro, said the shooting happened in the area of Nellis Boulevard and Tropicana Avenue at 12:12 p.m. The department originally described the incident as an officer-involved shooting.

Two officers were inside a patrol vehicle that was responding to a disturbance call at a nearby 99-Cent Only Store, McMahill said.

Metro police Sgt. John Sheahan elaborated the shooter walked up to the patrol vehicle that was stopped in the left turn lane of northbound Nellis at the time.

One shot struck the window of the vehicle followed by two more shots. The shots resulted in the officer sitting in the passenger seat being wounded in the hand, according to McMahill.

The officers went after the person on foot. The gunman ran a short distance, dropped the firearm and surrendered. There were no shots fired by the officers during the pursuit.

Police also recovered the shooter's weapon, which was described as a Springfield semi-automatic handgun.

The wounded officer was transported to University Medical Center Trauma with non-life threatening injuries to his hand. A motive was not disclosed. McMahill described the shooter only as a Hispanic male.

Sheahan noted Metro doubled up on patrols as of Friday, assigning two officers to a vehicle.

The ambush marked the second shooting of a Metro officer in a span of three days. On Friday, an officer was struck in the leg while he and his partner were investigating a break-in near Rainbow Boulevard and Alta Drive. Two people were taken into custody while a third was still being sought.

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