Las Vegas police look over the body of a 46-year-old suspect who was Tasered and then shot to death by police officers on Monday afternoon in a Lowe's parking lot at the corner of Charleston Boulevard and Fremont Street. In the far left of the photo is a Taser. At the feet of the dead man is a handgun. Photo by Craig L. Moran.

Las Vegas police shot and killed two armed men in unconnected incidents separated by five miles and mere minutes Monday.

In the first incident, an attempted murder suspect from New Mexico was shot to death and a woman suspected of being his accomplice was arrested in a Lowe's home improvement center parking lot. An 18-year veteran of the Metropolitan Police Department was shot in his left wrist.

In the second incident, police said they shot a man suspected of being a stalker when he jumped out of the bushes and fired at them.

The unidentified police sergeant injured in the first incident was taken to University Medical Center, where he was in good condition Monday night, Capt. James Dillon said.

The sergeant had led a plainclothes team searching for the 46-year-old man and a 26-year-old woman, both fugitives from New Mexico.

The man, whom police refused to identify, was wanted on three counts of attempted murder and one count of child abuse. The woman, whose name also was not released, was wanted as a possible accessory to the attempted murder, Dillon said.

The team of five plainclothes officers found the pair at 4:38 p.m. in front of the Lowe's at 2875 E. Charleston Blvd. When police approached the car, the man fled. After a short foot chase, police shot him with a Taser.

When officers went up to the man, he pulled a gun from his waistband, Dillon said. That's when the officers shot and killed him.

It was unclear whether the suspect fired a shot. Police said they were investigating whether the sergeant was shot by another officer.

The woman was arrested and is cooperating with the investigation, Dillon said.

After the shooting, the Lowe's store was closed for the night, and customers were held for interviews with the police.

Jack and Marie Mahaney were shopping when they heard someone yell "shots fired, shots fired." When they ran outside, they saw a man face down on the ground with one police officer pointing a gun at his head. They said they were unaware that the man was dead.

The Mahaneys said they were held in the store for two hours as they were interviewed, but Jack Mahaney said it was "no big deal if we can help."

Marie Mahaney described the inside of the store as "chaos."

About five miles away, and just a few minutes after the Lowe's incident, a woman called police to say that someone who was stalking her was outside her home, waving a gun and putting it up to his face, Dillon said.

When police arrived, the man got into his truck and drove into a housing development at Rochelle Avenue and Mountain Vista Street.

Police found the truck in the 4500 block of El Compana Way, but the man was not inside.

When they approached, the suspect jumped out of the bushes and fired at the officers, Dillon said. One or more of the officers returned fire, killing the suspect, he said.

"The suspect was laying in wait to ambush the police," Dillon said.

The police officers involved in both shootings were placed on administrative leave, following established procedure. Their names will be released 48 hours after the shootings, Dillon said.

Dillon also said use of force investigations will be conducted for both incidents, also following Police Department policy.