LODD- Las Vegas Sgt. Henry Prendes 2-1-06

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Another tragic event

From The Las Vegas Journal

'OUR WORST NIGHTMARE': LV officer slain in gunbattle

Gunman killed, another officer injured in shootout

By BRIAN HAYNES

REVIEW-JOURNAL

What was to have been a proud day for the Metropolitan Police Department on Wednesday ended as one of its darkest.

Fourteen-year police veteran Sgt. Henry Prendes was shot and killed during a domestic violence call, becoming the first Las Vegas police officer in 17 years to be slain in the line of duty.

"I can tell you, for the men and women of the Metropolitan Police Department this is a very sad day," Sheriff Bill Young said. "It's our worst nightmare as an agency."

Prendes, 37, was ambushed as he approached the front door of a house in southwest Las Vegas. The gunman then held police at bay by firing more than 50 rounds from a semiautomatic assault rifle before officers shot and killed him, Young said.

A second officer was shot in the leg during the gunbattle.

Police identified the gunman as Amir Rashid Crump, 21, an aspiring Las Vegas rapper who went by the nickname "Trajik."

The incident began about 1:20 p.m., just as Young was about to start an awards ceremony at the Clark County Commission chambers. Young told the audience of police officers and their families that he had to leave and explained that an officer had been shot. He didn't know that Prendes was dead until he was en route to University Medical Center.

Police had responded to the home at 8336 Feather Duster Court, near Durango Drive and the Las Vegas Beltway, after several 911 calls about a man beating a woman with a stick in the front yard and breaking windows on vehicles and the house.

Prendes and several officers arrived and found the woman, who was Crump's girlfriend. Her mother and her brother were with her. Crump had gone inside the home.

Prendes "cautiously approached" the door when he was met with gunfire, Young said. An officer nearby saw Prendes "reeling out of the house, saying, 'I'm hit,' " Young said.

Prendes fell on the sidewalk, but other officers could not reach him because Crump continued firing with his gun, which was similar to an AK-47, Young said.

Crump fired about 50 rounds and kept the officers pinned behind cars, walls and whatever cover they could find, he said. He went upstairs and fired down upon the officers, he said.

Investigators found several empty ammunition clips at the scene.

"He was prepared for this," Young said. "He was ready, waiting and willing to kill a police officer."

As the gunbattle continued, officers from across the valley sped toward the area and swarmed the neighborhood. Several roads were closed as police locked down the scene and surrounding neighborhood.

Joe Anello, a Manhattan Beach, Calif., resident who was visiting a relative, watched the incident unfold from a backyard looking toward Feather Duster Court. He said he heard a burst of eight to 10 shots, followed by about 15 seconds of silence, then another 15 or 20 gunshots.

Another neighbor, Anthony Johnson, said it sounded like a gunbattle.

"It sounded like someone was shooting, and then someone shooting back," he said.

Aaron Barnes, who lives on Feather Duster Court, said he came home from work and saw the police helicopter. He heard gunfire and looked up the street to see his neighbor, Crump, firing a gun.

He said his neighbor, a member of the rap group Desert Mobb, was usually quiet, except for occasional loud music in the middle of the night.

Despite the barrage of gunfire, police officers tried to rescue Prendes. A plainclothes officer with the gang unit was armed with an assault rifle and helped turn the tide.

"His weapon probably saved the day," Young said.

That officer was shot in the leg during the rescue attempt.

Police shot and killed Crump outside the front door.

About five or six officers fired their weapons during the incident. Their names will be withheld until 48 hours after the incident, which is department policy.

"This could have been a lot worse," Young said. "We are extremely fortunate that other police officers were not killed in this incident."

At UMC, dozens of somber uniformed and plainclothes officers gathered in front of the Trauma Unit to show their support for the wounded officer. Police sealed off the Trauma Unit entrance for hours, allowing only authorized personnel to use that entrance. Nearly all visitors were told to use a different hospital entrance.

The last Las Vegas police officer to be shot and killed in the line of duty was 34-year-old Marc Kahre. He was shot in October 1988 while responding to a domestic violence call in east Las Vegas.

Young said domestic violence calls can be the most dangerous for a police officer, but Las Vegas police officers handle thousands a year without incident.

"Today, unfortunately, our luck ran out," Young said.

[Jared1979 19]

my condolences to the family of Sgt Henry Prendes my thoughts and prayers are with you during this time.