Vigil to honor slain Metro officer planned for Friday

Slain Metropolitan Police Department officer Austin Abdelnabi will be remembered at a vigil Friday.

The vigil is planned for 7 p.m. at Police Memorial Park at 3250 Metro Academy Way, near West Cheyenne Avenue and the 215 Beltway in northwest Las Vegas, according to a flyer emailed Wednesday by Injured Police Officers Fund Director Minddie Lloyd.

Lloyd said the Injured Police Officers Fund is also raising money to support Abdelnabi’s family. A news release from the nonprofit organization said its initiative is the only officially approved fundraiser to benefit Abdelnabi’s family.

“Officer Austin Abdelnabi served with honor, courage, and unwavering dedication,” the release said. “His sacrifice will never be forgotten.”

Donations can be made on the fund’s website at https://ipof.vegas/.

The Injured Police Officers Fund, founded in 1982, provides financial assistance to the families of officers who are injured or killed in the line of duty.

Abdelnabi, 30, was shot and killed Tuesday after responding to a call shortly after 4 p.m. about a man who appeared intoxicated and was waving a firearm at a business in the 4500 block of East Tropicana Avenue, according to police. Sheriff Kevin McMahill said Wednesday that Abdelnabi was ambushed as he was exiting his vehicle.

Police said Tuesday evening that officers found a suspect in the 5400 block of Mountain Vista Street, near Interstate 11, south of where the call originated. Police said the suspect immediately opened fire on officers after they contacted him, and at least one officer returned fire.

Abdelnabi was rushed to University Medical Center, where he died, police said. Amy Harvey, Abdelnabi’s mother, told the Las Vegas Review-Journal on Wednesday her son was married, graduated from Clemson University and was a Marine veteran.

The suspect died at the scene, according to police. Authorities have not yet identified him and said more body-camera footage and additional evidence from the shooting would be released Friday.

A previous version of this story misstated the name of the Injured Police Officers Fund.