KEY POINTS

  • A Las Vegas police officer is paralyzed after being shot in the head on June 1
  • Police officer Shay Mikalonis was rushed to UMC in critical condition and on life support after the shooting
  • LVMPD detectives later identified the suspect as 20-year-old Edgar Samaniego

The Las Vegas police officer who was shot in the head during a protest over the death of George Floyd earlier this month is paralyzed from the neck down and is unable to speak.

On June 1, 29-year-old Las Vegas Metropolitan Police officer Shay Mikalonis was one of the officers who were dispatched to provide assistance to other enforcers at the 2800 block of South Las Vegas Boulevard. 8News said the protest was relatively peaceful for most of the evening, but tensions started to flare when other demonstrators started throwing rocks and bottles.

As officers started dispersing the crowd in front of Circus Circus Hotel and Casino, a gunman allegedly fired at police from across the street. During the shootout, Mikalinos was shot in the head. He was immediately rushed to University Medical Center of Southern Nevada in critical condition and was placed on life support.

Las Vegas police shooting
A police line blocks off part of the Las Vegas Strip after a car ran into a group of pedestrians between Planet Hollywood and the Paris Las Vegas Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Dec. 20, 2015. Getty Images/AFP/VALERIE MACON

“Shay is awake and seems to recognize his family members. We can't thank the staff of caring professionals at UMC for getting him this far, truly a miracle!” his family wrote on Facebook.

The post also said that Mikalinos has “tentatively been accepted to one of the best spine rehabilitation centers in the country” and will release the name of the center “when the time is right.”

“We are anticipating that Shay will be moving on in his long journey ahead,” said the post.

LVMPD Homicide Detectives later identified the suspect as 20-year-old Edgar Samaniego after reviewing surveillance footage. According to the Department, video footage showed Samaniego firing a handgun at the responding officers while he was walking down the street. Detectives tracked the suspect at a motel across the screen.

Samaniego was arrested by responding SWAT officers. He was transported to the Clark County Detention Center and was charged with one count of attempted murder on a police officer and two counts of unlawful discharging of a firearm.

Fox News meanwhile said that Samaniego is being held without bail on accusations that he violated the terms of release after he was arrested for DUI and possession of illegal drugs back in April. Appointed “public defender” Scott Coffee also pointed out that Samaniego will plead not guilty.

It is unclear whether Samaniego was part of the protest since most of the crowd had already dispersed when the shooting happened, said the network, citing reports from the Review-Journal.

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