Ed Komenda, Sam Gross and Brett McGinness
Reno Gazette Journal
LAS VEGAS — Las Vegas police have identified 20-year-old Edgar Samaniego as the suspect in the shooting of LVMPD officer Shay Mikalonis on Monday night.
According to a department press release, LVMPD homicide detectives identified the suspect in video surveillance firing a handgun at officers as he walked down South Las Vegas Boulevard. Detectives tracked the suspect to a motel located across the street from the shooting.
Samaniego was booked into the Clark County Detention Center on one count of attempted murder on a police officer and two counts of unlawful discharging of a firearm.
Las Vegas police officer Shay Mikalonis remains in “grave condition” on Tuesday after he was shot Monday night during a confrontation with a heavily armed man after a demonstration protesting the death of George Floyd.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with him and his family, and we ask that yours be as well,” Chris Jones, assistant sheriff with Las Vegas Metro Police, said during a press conference on Tuesday.
In a completely separate incident Monday night, officers shot and killed 25-year-old Jorge Gomez outside the federal courthouse on Las Vegas Boulevard.
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Gomez was part of a crowd outside the courthouse that had become “rowdy,” according to Jones, and had been ordered to disperse just after 11 p.m.
The majority of that crowd did disperse, but Gomez was among a few who stayed.
Gomez was heavily armed, according to Jones. He carried three Glock handguns, one of which had been fitted with a carbine conversion kit.
A video showed during Tuesday’s press conference allegedly shows Gomez with weapons clearly visible.
When Gomez and others refused to disperse from the area near the courthouse, an officer fired several shots from a low-lethal shotgun, causing Gomez to turn northbound.
Gomez then allegedly raised one of his firearms at other officers, who fired several rounds at him.
He was transported to an area hospital where he was pronounced deceased. Gomez is a resident of the Las Vegas area, Jones said.