Overview
- Police responded after a caller reported a masked man waving a firearm near the 4500 block of East Tropicana Avenue, and officers located the suspect near Mountain Vista Street where an exchange of gunfire left a Metro officer and the suspect dead.
- The slain officer was identified as 30-year-old Austin “Zade” Abdelnabi, a Marine Corps veteran who joined the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department in November 2023 and is survived by his wife and family.
- Sheriff Kevin McMahill said Abdelnabi was ambushed as he exited his patrol vehicle, and the wounded officer was taken to University Medical Center where he later died.
- The department opened its standard 72-hour administrative review and officials plan to release body-camera footage and more details Friday while law enforcement groups organized a procession and a vigil at Police Memorial Park.
- Public reaction has been intense, including an incident at a Trump event where Gov. Joe Lombardo scolded a crowd for booing Abdelnabi’s name, and local nonprofits have launched an approved fundraiser to support the officer’s family.