Suspect, cop hit in shootout

Jen Lawson

Monday, Jan. 12, 2004 | 9:43 a.m.

A shootout between Metro Police and a carjacking suspect outside Paris Las Vegas early Saturday sent one officer and the suspect to the hospital with bullet wounds.

Police allege Keenon Babcock, 24, carjacked a vehicle near Charleston and Decatur boulevards. When officers spotted the car and tried to pull it over, a "lengthy pursuit" ensued, said Capt. Tom Lozich of Metro's robbery/homicide bureau.

Police did not clarify on Sunday how long officers chased the car or how fast the chase was.

The pursuit ended about 2:30 a.m. when the car that police were chasing rear-ended a taxicab stopped at a red light in the 3600 block of Las Vegas Boulevard South.

Babcock allegedly pointed a gun at the officers when he jumped out of the car and ran toward Paris Las Vegas.

Before he could run into the hotel, Babcock turned and fired at three officers who were chasing him, police said. Officer Kenny Delzer, 30, who has been with Metro since August 2001, was shot in the upper leg, Lozich said.

Delzer and Officer Patrick Walters fired at Babcock, hitting him in the face, Lozich said. Walters, 37, has been with Metro since January 2002, police said.

Babcock and the injured officer were taken to University Medical Center. The officer was treated and released. Babcock was still hospitalized this morning.

Babcock was booked into the Clark County Detention Center in absentia on three counts of attempted murder of a police officer, robbery with a deadly weapon and resisting police.

It was Metro's first officer-involved shooting of 2004.