Gunman Attacks Las Vegas Police Officers in "Ambush-Style" Shooting
A man with a handgun ambushed two Las Vegas police officers as they waited at a stop light on Sunday, firing three shots and hitting one officer in the hand, KVVU-TV reports.
Authorities say the gunman approached the patrol car shortly after noon, reached inside the vehicle and began firing. He then ran away and was apprehended after a short foot chase.
According to one witness, the suspect surrendered peacefully. From the Las Vegas Review-Journal:
“He didn’t resist or put up a fight,” Robert Benjamin, 44, said.
Benjamin was “flying a sign for Jesus” on the corner when he heard three gunshots. He saw the officer who was unharmed chase the shooter, a man in a red T-shirt.
The man dropped the gun and ran into the street toward the median, where he surrendered, Benjamin said.
“I just hope that young man finds Jesus,” he said.
The wounded officer was then taken to a nearby hospital with non-life threatening injures. Police have not disclosed the suspect’s possible motive.
A Las Vegas police spokesperson said officers have been riding in patrol cars in pairs since Friday, when another officer was shot in the leg responding to a reported prowler.
[Image via Twitter/Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department]