By Glenn Puit, Devan Patel
Las Vegas Review-Journal
LAS VEGAS — Officer Austin Abdelnabi died after he was shot eight times by an armed suspect in Tuesday’s gunbattle in east Las Vegas, a senior Metropolitan Police Department official said in a news briefing Friday.
Metro Undersheriff Andrew Walsh spoke to the media Friday as part of a briefing to release body-camera footage and additional information about Tuesday’s gunbattle that claimed Abdelnabi’s life and killed the suspect, 21-year-old Angel Tywan Lucas Lindsey.
Walsh said Abdelnabi, 30, did not fire his weapon and was hit eight times by Lucas Lindsey, who continued to fire in Abdelnabi’s direction as Lucas Lindsey attempted to flee.
Officer Enrique Molinet , 29, arrived afterward and fired six shots from his Glock 9 mm handgun at Lucas Lindsey, who sustained a gunshot wound to the chest before shooting himself in the head. In total, Walsh said Lucas Lindsey fired 15 rounds from a 9 mm handgun. He had one round left in the chamber, 10 additional rounds in the gun’s extended magazine and two additional magazines with 18 and 28 rounds, respectively, on his body.
“Officer Abdelnabi arrived first, and he activated the emergency lights on his patrol vehicle as he exited the vehicle,” Walsh said Friday. “The suspect immediately charged at him, opening fire and striking him multiple times. Officer Molinet pulled up behind officer Abdelnabi. He saw the attack and exited his patrol vehicle. The suspect fired at Officer Molinet, who returned fire, striking the suspect.”
Abdelnabi was rushed to University Medical Center , where he was pronounced dead. Records from the Clark County coroner’s office listed his cause of death as “Gunshot wound of right arm and torso.”
Walsh said one of the rounds fired at Abdelnabi hit his body camera. The camera was sent to its manufacturer, Axon, in Phoenix , and was then transferred to another company in an effort to determine whether the footage could be retrieved.
Police: Drone footage showed suspect with gun
Clark County Sheriff Kevin McMahill said this week that Abdelnabi responded to a call made at 3:57 p.m. about a man with a gun near the 4500 block of East Tropicana Avenue . Metro Capt. Adam Seely said at a separate briefing that police had received multiple reports of a person erratically waving a firearm near Mountain Vista Street and Tropicana Avenue .
Drone footage released by Metro showed Lucas Lindsey heading south on Mountain Vista Street with a gun and an extended magazine visible.
Police made contact with the reporting party before encountering Lucas Lindsey in the vicinity of the 5400 block of Mountain Vista, near Interstate 11 .
Lucas Lindsey’s cause and manner of death remain pending, according to coroner’s office records.
Had he survived, Walsh said he would have faced charges of murder, attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon.
The department placed Molinet on routine paid administrative leave pending a review.
The shooting marked the ninth officer-involved shooting in Metro’s jurisdiction this year, six of which have been fatal. By this time last year, the department had four officer-involved shootings, three of which were fatal.
Funeral set for Aug. 14
Abdelnabi, a South Carolina native, was a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps before joining Metro in November 2023 . During his military service from 2014 to 2018, he received several medals, including the Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal and the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal.
Abdelnabi’s funeral is scheduled for 10 a.m. on Aug. 14 at Central Church , 1001 New Beginnings Drive in Henderson .
He is survived by his wife, parents, two brothers and a sister.
At a briefing earlier in the week, McMahill said police had interacted with the suspect in the past, but none of those encounters involved crimes. Walsh said the department had records of three previous contacts, all of which were related to mental health.
A LinkedIn profile bearing Lucas Lindsey’s name described him as a college student “highly motivated to learn and grow as an individual.”
Lee Williams, a cousin of Lucas Lindsey’s, told the Las Vegas Review-Journal his family was blindsided by Tuesday’s events. He added that Lucas Lindsey suffered from severe mental health challenges and that he did not know how Lucas Lindsey obtained a firearm.
Walsh said Lucas Lindsey legally purchased the gun. Police also searched his residence and recovered his electronic devices, which are undergoing digital forensic examination.
If you’re thinking about suicide, or are worried about a friend or loved one, help is available 24/7 by calling or texting the Lifeline network at 988. Live chat is available at 988lifeline.org. Additionally, the Crisis Text Line is a free, national service available 24/7. Text HOME to 741741.
Contact Glenn Puit at gpuit@reviewjournal.com. Contact Devan Patel at dpatel@reviewjournal.com.
©2026 Las Vegas Review-Journal. Visit reviewjournal.com.. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
