A photo of Metro Police officer Shay K. Mikalonis, 29, a four-year veteran of the department, is displayed during a media briefing at Las Vegas Metro Police Headquarters Tuesday, June 2, 2020. Mikalonis was shot near Circus Circus Monday night, June 1, 2020, during a George Floyd protest.
Wednesday, June 10, 2020 | 3:47 p.m.
A fundraising event has been organized to benefit Metro Police Officer Shay Mikalonis, who was shot in the face last week during a protest on the Las Vegas Strip and remains in critical condition at University Medical Center.
Donations can be dropped off from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday at Sahara West Urgent Care, 6125 W. Sahara Ave., where attendees can also sign a get-well card, the Injured Police Officers Fund said.
For those concerned about the pandemic, the donations can be made from vehicles “while safely socially distancing,” organizers said, noting that 100% of the proceeds were going to the Mikalonis family.
Mikalonis remained on a ventilator, and might need one for the rest of his life, his family said Tuesday in a letter publicized by police. “He is awake and appears to recognize his family,” the letter said.
Mikalonis, 29, was shot in the face at the end of a George Floyd protest in front of Circus Circus June 1 as he was helping make arrests.
Police tracked down Edgar Samaniego hours later at a nearby motel. Samaniego, who purportedly hadn’t participated in the protest, which turned unruly, admitted to firing the gun from 50 feet away, saying that he was trying to break up the commotion.
Prosecutors argue that after he hit Mikalonis in the face, he fired two more rounds into the crowd.
“We just want everyone to know that Shay is a fighter,” the Mikalonis family letter said. “But he has a long, hard fight ahead of him.”
