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Las Vegas K9 Officer, Nicky, Shot And Killed Weeks After Surviving Vicious Machete Attack

By Janice Malcolm
Published on: 15:14 PST, Mar 31, 2016

Las Vegas Metro K9 police officer, Nicky, was shot and killed earlier today in an altercation with a suspect only three weeks after returning to the force following a vicious attack by a machete-wielding suspect during his line of duty. The multiple stab wounds to the face kept Nicky off duty for a month while he recovered.

Las Vegas police Capt. Shawn Anderson was the one who advised the public that Nicky had been shot and killed in the line of duty, explaining that it occurred about noon (2 p.m. ET) on Thursday. The 8-year-old Belgian Malinois and his human partner of three years, Sgt. Eric Kerns, were involved in a confrontation after reports of a man wielding a gun on the 9800 block of Fast Elk Street.

Captain Anderson stated that when confronted, the suspect opened fire at officer Kerns and Nicky, striking the K9 and killing him. Kerns returned fire and his shots were said to have wounded the suspect, who was taken to University Medical Center Trauma for treatment. The name of the suspect in this officer-involved shooting just off North El Capitan Way has not been released to the public at this time, nor is his condition.

News 3 reportedly spoke to witnesses from the community regarding the tragedy of Nicky being shot and killed, and were told that the suspect had been parading through the neighborhood with his gun drawn and randomly shooting at people in the community before the police officers arrived. The K9 Unit was deployed in a police plan that involved taking the suspect into custody and ended with a force in mourning. Captain Anderson spoke on behalf of the Las Vegas police regarding their loss.

“It’s devastating to lose that dog. That dog is one of us.”

One of the witnesses reported that when Officer Kerns and Nicky approached the suspect they heard shots fired before someone was ovverheard making the emotional statement that “you just killed my dog.” The report on the situation also stated that the suspect is believed to have shot and killed a man and a woman in a nearby home prior to the altercation with the police. The relationship between the shooter and his two suspected victims is currently under investigation.

According to Fox 5 Vegas, no other police officers were injured during the shooting which took Nicky the K9’s life. Police placed two elementary schools near the crime scene on lockdown, Bilbray and Scherkenback, during the investigation but those were later lifted at approximately 1:15 p.m.

The four-legged officer had become fairly well known when the media covered his previous act of bravery in the line of duty which had caused him severe injury on February 12. During that brush with death, the SWAT team and the K9 officers were sent to raid a property after a 12-hour stand-off, when negotiations between the force and a suspect had broken down. Unbeknownst to the authorities that suspect had a machete and during the raid, K9 officer Nicky was attacked and stabbed multiple times in the head.

His wounds did not slow down the K9 officer though, and he continued with his job until the suspect was brought down, biting him numerous times. Nicky spent several weeks recovering and became the center of the police department’s fundraising campaign for the K9 unit. He eagerly returned to the job on March 8.

https://www.facebook.com/LasVegasPoliceK9s/posts/1090915320939823:0

Nicky was hailed a hero after that attack and neighbors believe that this attack, which took his life, would have had a much worse outcome had the K9 officer not been involved.

“That’s called service – with unconditional love and commitment. K9s are pretty special for that.”

[Photo Courtesy of Las Vegas Metro Police Department]

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