LAS VEGAS (KRON/CNN) — A man with a semiautomatic handgun ambushed two officers who had stopped at a traffic light, on their way to a call on Sunday, wounding one of the officers, police in Las Vegas said.
The injured officer was shot in the hand and treated at a hospital, according to Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Sgt. John Sheahan. He was in good condition.
Police haven’t released the identity of the suspect, who was later arrested.
The officers were in a marked patrol car, police said, responding to a disturbance call at a local business.
“They were ambushed on the way to that call,” Sheahan said.
Undersheriff Kevin McMahill praised the officers, saying they showed “remarkable restraint” when they took the suspect into custody.
“These officers are going out there and being attacked while they are sitting in a police car, and we didn’t fire a single shot back at him,” he told CNN affiliate KSNV.
McMahill said his department has changed the way it deploys officers “because of the narrative of violence against police across the country.” Officers have to respond to calls as a two unit team.
“We are certainly working on pins and needles,” McMahill told KSNV. “(That is) part of the reason we doubled them up. So we have two officers available immediately whenever an incident occurs.”
CNN’s Jackie Castillo contributed to this report.