Marine Veteran-Turned-Cop is Remembered by Community After Gun Battle Death

A Marine veteran who spent his post-military career as a Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department officer was mourned by his community on Friday after being shot earlier this month.

Austin Abdelnabi, a 30-year-old veteran, was shot Aug. 4 when he responded to a call for a suspect with a gun. The reported gun battle took place in the 4500 block of East Tropicana Avenue in the city. He leaves behind his wife, Sage, his parents, and three siblings, accoridng to local ABC affiliate KTNV.

“Doctors and nurses worked feverishly to save his life,” Clark County Sheriff Kevin McMahill said at a press conference after the shooting death. “Unfortunately, our officer has passed.”

“He was not only a police officer; he was a Marine veteran, a person who served this country and this community,” he added.

The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department honored Abdelnabi on Aug. 14 with a procession that began at 9 a.m. local time and went from the funeral home to Central Church, on New Beginnings Drive.

Gov. Joe Lombardo ordered flags to be lowered to half-staff on Friday as well.

“Officer Abdelnabi made the ultimate sacrifice in service to his country and his community, and Nevada will never forget his courage,” Lombardo said in a statement. “He dedicated his life to protecting others, and his loss is felt deeply by all of us. We will continue to honor his memory, stand with his family and loved ones, and support the brothers and sisters in law enforcement who served alongside him.”

Services began with words from pastor Michael Kitchen, of Central Church, and were followed by fellow officers Jeffrey Ocampo and Jonah Singer, according to KTNV.

“He connected with everyone he came across,” Singer said. “He had empathy for every person he met and always seemed to know exactly what to say, no matter how difficult the situation was. He made this job easier simply by being himself.

“[He] wasn’t just an incredible police officer. He was an incredible husband, friend, partner, brother and all-around human being.”

Abdelnabi’s best friend, Dallas Little, said the pair were like brothers.

“Having Zade as a friend changed me as a person,” Little said. “His determination showed me that if there’s something you want out of life, you go after it with everything you have.

“Watching the way he carried himself, the way he worked, and the way he went after what he wanted made me want to hold myself to a higher standard as well.”

The ceremony ended with a 21-gun salute.

How Death Unfolded

Police received a call at around 3:57 p.m. Aug. 4 for a person waving a firearm, according to McMahill.

The suspect appeared to be intoxicated and after police drones arrived at the scene, it promoted a battle in which the gunman “immediately opened fire” and targeted law enforcers.

After the gunman shot Abdelnabi, doctors, nurses and first responders attempted to save him at a local hospital, University Medical Center, but he died.

“As you can imagine, I have lots of grieving police officers, a grieving community,” McMahill said at the time, also referring to it as an ambush.

The suspect died at the scene.

Veterans in Law Enforcement

Some 19% of U.S. police officers are military veterans, equating to some 144,000 veterans, according to the nonprofit the Marshall Project. This means they are disproportionately reprsented in U.S. police forces as only 6% of the population at large has served in the military.

Nationally, 53 officers were killed in the line of duty in 2025, according to data recorded by the FBI. While this represented a 17.2% decrease from 2024, there was also a 10-year-high in non-fatal assaults against officers and maintaining the safety of officers who are serving in the U.S. is a concern for law enforcers.

The suspect in the Abdelnabi case, who police have not named, was also pronounced dead at the scene. Authorities said he would be named at a later date.

Abdelnabi served in the Marine Corps from August 2014 to August 2018, and with the Las Vegas Police Department since November 2023.

Nick Mordowanec contributed to this report.