Metro officer seriously wounded in shooting

Mary Manning and Keith Paul

Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2002 | 11:14 a.m.

A Metro Police SWAT team found a suspected gunman dead in an apartment near Maryland Parkway and Tropicana Avenue this morning after a patrol officer was shot and seriously wounded.

Police made the discovery about 10:40 a.m. after a standoff that began about midnight. The standoff followed the Monday night shooting of a patrol officer. The officer, whose name is being withheld for 48 hours per department policy, was in serious but stable condition this morning at University Medical Center recovering from a grazing wound to his temple.

Police found blood in the apartment where the suspected gunman was discovered, but could not immediately determine a cause of death. A department spokesman said that the suspect may have suffered some sort of wound to his arm before he entered the apartment.

Police believe the gunman was holed up in an apartment, where he had broken in and held a resident at gunpoint. The resident crawled out an apartment window about midnight as the gunman changed his shirt, Metro Deputy Chief Ray Flynn said.

The officer had responded to Maryland Parkway and Reno Avenue about 11 p.m. Monday after police received a report of a person with a weapon. The officer saw a man who matched the description and went to talk to him.

As the officer walked toward the man, Flynn said, the man pulled a large-barrel revolver and fired at least two shots, striking the officer in the chest. The patrolman was wearing an armored vest, and the bullet bounced off and grazed his head, wounding him.

"I saw a cop laying down there," said Don Zimmerman who lives in nearby apartments. "I was pulling up as the first ambulance arrived. I saw a cop with a head wound. It makes me nervous living in this neighborhood."

A second shot flew through the patrol car's window, piercing the lapel of another officer, who was not injured, Flynn said.

Dozens of officers, K-9 units, the SWAT team and detectives arrived to hunt for the man and barricade several blocks, including the intersection at Tropicana and Maryland.

They focused on the single apartment when they saw the resident climb out the window, police said. The gunman, described as about 6 feet and between 165 and 180 pounds, barged through the front door and pointed a gun at the occupant, Flynn said.

Metro negotiators established contact with the suspect and waited through the night and into this morning.

"Desperate," Flynn said as to the possible state of mind of the suspect. "I would say he is definitely desperate."

Residents of nearby apartments were evacuated to the University of Nevada law school at the corner of Tropicana and Paradise Road.

Two other law enforcement officers have been injured on duty in recent years. Nevada Highway Patrol Trooper Robert "Bobby" Kintzel was struck by the car of a fleeing suspect as he tried to plant spikes on April 20, 2001.

Metro Police officer Pete Rossi was shot in the eye during a robbery on June 14, 2000.