Friday, Sept. 26, 2003 | 11:12 a.m.
Two Metro Police officers were injured and one man was killed in a shooting incident Thursday afternoon at Martin Luther King Boulevard and Bonanza Road, police said.
Police were responding to a fatal shooting when the 26-year-old suspect, Frank Lyles, shot at them, police said. One officer was shot in the head and hand, but his injuries are not life-threatening and he is expected to make a full recovery.
The officer was in good condition this morning at University Medical Center.
A second officer who was wounded by bullet fragments grazing his head was treated and released from the hospital, Lt. Tom Monahan said this morning.
The original victim, who was shot several times in front of a Sears repair store at the intersection of Martin Luther King and Bonanza, died at University Medical Center shortly before 11 p.m., Barela said.
The Clark County coroner's office said this morning that the victim had not been positively identified.
Police responded to a shooting about 5:30 p.m. Witnesses told police that the suspect shot a man several times and calmly walked on.
Several witnesses followed Lyles as he calmly walked down Martin Luther King.
One woman who witnessed the shooting said the shooting victim looked like a homeless man and appeared as if he was going to ask Lyles for change.
"I'm watching this guy at the light," said a woman who asked not to be named for fear of retribution. "Then this other man shoots him three, four, five times."
Lyles, in beige pants with a black backpack and black hat, started to walk away from the victim when he turned and shot the man twice more in the back, she said.
"Then he walked away as if nothing had happened," she said.
Several witnesses called 911 and followed Lyles, who ran into Levitz Plaza on Martin Luther King.
Officers arrived and ordered Lyles to lie down, but instead he turned and fired at them, Metro spokeswoman Carla Alston said.
It was unclear if officers shot at Lyles, police said, but he was taken into custody and booked into the Clark County Detention Center on charges of murder, attempted murder and three counts of attempted murder, all with a deadly weapon.
Mark Robles, an emergency medical technician with the Las Vegas Fire and Rescue, said that amazingly the officer shot in the face was fine.
"He was conscious and talking the whole time," Robles said. "I just don't understand how someone can be shot like that and be OK. He was really lucky."
Robles said the bullet went right between his eyes, a .22-caliber bullet lodged behind his left eye. The officer could see out of both eyes.
"He was bleeding like a sieve. There was blood everywhere. He hops up into our bed and flops there," Robles said about the injured officer getting into the ambulance.
"We thought it probably ricocheted off his head but then we saw the X-ray and there it was," Robles said.
After the officers were shot, police thought there might be a second suspect and shut down Martin Luther King from Bonanza Road to Alta Drive. They also closed the eastbound ramp to U.S. 95. Martin Luther King was reopened about 11 p.m.
No other suspect was found, Lozich said.
More than 100 officers responded to the two crime scenes, including a SWAT team, a police dog unit and a helicopter during the search.
"Anytime we face a situation where shots are fired, we bring in officers," Lozich said. "As a precaution we want to be sure we have all the subjects in custody."
The Levitz Plaza was evacuated, according to one woman employee who refused to give her name.
One officer, who would not give his name, said the officer who was shot in the face was doing well.
"He's joking and he's going to be fine," the officer said. "He was real lucky."
The names of the officers involved in the shooting will be withheld for 48 hours, according to police policy.
Sun reporter
Jen Lawson contributed to this story.
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