By: Las Vegas Now Staff
One fugitive is dead and a Metro officer has been released from the hospital after being shot in the leg. The shooting happened when Metro officers attempted to arrest two fugitives on Wednesday night. The second suspected fugitive is in custody.
It was a long night for officers as many visited their injured comrade at UMC while others were at the scene of the shooting for several hours piecing together what happened.
Police say they were attempting to do a traffic stop on the suspects when the suspects crashed a car and emerged with weapons drawn at Eastern and St. Louis Avenues. Police say they were backing up U.S. Marshals in the arrest.
“Two suspects fled from the vehicle. They were seen with firearms. Officers engaged in a foot pursuit. A short distance from the wreck officers attempted to place one of the suspects in custody, at which time there was an exchange of gun fire,” said Metro Captain Randy Montandon.
One shot from the suspect would send an officer to the hospital with a bullet wound to his leg. Another shot, this time from officers, would end up taking the suspect's life.
Knowing the second suspect was also armed and considered just as dangerous, police stepped up their search.
“We basically had to bring a lot of manpower, because we had two very dangerous people that we were trying to apprehend,” said Montandon.
Police first learned about the suspects from the U.S. Marshals office who said the pair, wanted in California for parole violations from an earlier robbery, maybe in Las Vegas.
Police spotted their car about 6 p.m. Wednesday evening, but when they tried to pull them over, the suspects sped away, leading to a short pursuit and finally the crash.
About an hour after it all began, the search for the second suspect finally came to end peacefully and now officers are investigating what led to two people being shot.
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God bless the police who put their lives out on the line for the community everyday. What they make is definitly not enough for the risk they take and the work they do.
Comment by John Smith — February 8, 2008 @ 3:53 pm
I hope the brave man in blue recovers.
Comment by carl lee spats — February 14, 2008 @ 5:55 am