LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — An east Las Vegas mother and daughter say they are still reliving the day Officer Austin Abdelnabi was shot and killed in the line of duty near Mountain Vista Street and Hacienda Avenue.
WATCH | I spoke with the family to hear what they are going through in the wake of this tragedy:
According to Sheriff Kevin McMahill, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department dispatch received a call about a person who appeared intoxicated, waving a firearm at a business in the 4500 block of East Tropicana Avenue. Captain Adam Seely said officers made contact with the suspect in the 5400 block of Mountain Vista Street and "he immediately opened fire upon officers."
One of the officers hit was Officer Abdelnabi.
For Sasha Ruiz, the memories of Tuesday’s deadly shooting remain impossible to escape.
“In an instant, the lives of an east Las Vegas mother and daughter — and an LVMPD officer — were changed forever,” Ruiz said. “What happened that day is something I’ll carry with me for the rest of my life.”
Ruiz and her mother, Iris Miranda, witnessed parts of the chaos unfold outside Ruiz’s workplace.
“It’s been a couple of days since the shooting. Looking back at it now, can you tell me what you’re feeling today?” I asked her.
“What I’m feeling today? The same thing. The feeling from the first day,” Miranda responded.
Miranda said she has not stopped thinking about the shooting since it happened.
The same goes for Ruiz, who says she watched the situation unfold directly outside the office where she works.
“What really broke me was seeing my daughter sitting in front of the window at her desk where the shooter was passing by,” Ruiz said.
Days later, a memorial now stands at the scene where police say Officer Abdelnabi was killed while responding to the incident.
Ruiz says returning to work has been difficult.
“When I went into the office today, alone, I was scared,” she said.
Video captured by the business’s Ring camera shows the alleged shooter walking past the building carrying a gun.
“When I look outside the window, he’s the only person I can picture now,” Ruiz said.
Despite the trauma, Ruiz says her thoughts remain with Officer Abdelnabi’s loved ones.
“If you were sitting in front of his family today, what is something you would tell them?” she was asked.
“I feel for the family. I wish I could hug them and thank them,” Ruiz said.
As a mother herself, Miranda also shared a message for the officer’s family in Spanish.
“Su mamá tiene que estar muy orgullosa,” Miranda said.
“His mom must be very proud because she raised a hero — an amazing human being."
Ruiz says she is grateful for the officers who put their lives on the line every day to protect the community, adding that without their response, her mother and daughter may not have made it home safely.
