Las Vegas police officer shot during protest paralyzed, family says

LAS VEGAS — Las Vegas police officer Shay Mikalonis is awake but paralyzed from the neck down after being shot in the head earlier this month while attempting to disperse protesters, his family confirmed Sunday.

"Shay is on a ventilator and will remain so. He is also paralyzed from the neck down and unable to speak,” the family statement, posted to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department’s Twitter page, said.

Mikalonis, 29, was attempting to control a crowd of protesters gathered outside Circus Circus June 1 when he was shot, KSNV reported.

According to the family statement, Mikalonis “seems to recognize his family members” and has been “tentatively accepted to one of the best spine rehabilitation centers in the country.”

To date, Mikalonis has undergone two surgeries: one to remove a bullet from his neck and another to repair his shattered jaw, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.

Edgar Samaniego, the 20-year-old man accused of shooting Mikalonis, is currently being held on $1 million bail on suspicion of attempted murder of a police officer and unlawful discharging of a firearm, KSNV reported.

Cox Media Group