Officer injured in triple shooting leaves hospital

A Las Vegas police officer who was shot in the wrist Friday after exchanging gunfire with a suspect in a domestic disturbance call was released from the hospital on Saturday.

The officer, one of three hit by gunfire during the incident, was in good condition and resting comfortably at his home, said officer Martin Wright, spokesman for the Metropolitan Police Department.

Police identified Terry Dixon, 42, as the suspect in the shooting at the Paradise Park Apartments, near Twain Avenue and Paradise Road. Dixon, who surrendered Friday afternoon after a 31/2-hour standoff, faces charges of resisting a public officer with a weapon, felony possession of a firearm and three counts of attempted murder of a police officer.

He is due in court Wednesday.

The three officers were taken to University Medical Center on Friday. Two officers -- one of whom was spared serious injury by his protective vest, and another who was protected by his equipment belt -- were released from UMC on Friday night. The officers' names were not available Saturday.

Dixon is no stranger to the state's legal system. He was arraigned in court on Monday for a July robbery with a deadly weapon. He is scheduled to be in court for that felony on Oct. 29.

He has pleaded guilty to felony robbery three times since March 1993, when he was sentenced to six years in prison. Dixon pleaded guilty to felony robbery charges in January 1994 and April 2001.

Dixon's mother called 911 Friday around 1:30 p.m., after getting into an argument with her son.

The two were arguing about Dixon leaving the apartment because he used drugs, said Lt. Lew Roberts, with the Metropolitan Police Department's homicide unit.

Dixon fired one round into the ceiling of his mother's apartment before police arrived on scene, Roberts said.

When officers arrived, Dixon was standing at the base of the stairs to the apartment and retreated inside when he saw police.

Officers then heard two additional gunshots and a woman screaming. Fearing that someone had been injured, police tried to force open the door to the unit.

Dixon fired into the door, striking one officer in the wrist, police said. The gunman then opened the door and fired several more rounds, striking the second officer in the chest, Roberts said.

As the injured officers moved to safety, Dixon continued to shoot at police on the ground below, hitting the third officer.

The mother and her sister got out of the apartment safely, police said.

The standoff ended at 5 p.m., when the suspect surrendered. Police negotiated with the suspect via cell phone.

Despite the events of the day before, the mood was upbeat on Saturday in the neighborhood surrounding the shooting scene.

Students from Valley High School washed cars in the parking lot behind a Mexican restaurant at the corner of Palos Verdes Street and Twain to raise money for the school's mariachi band.

Music flooded the area and people frequented businesses on the block that had been shut down by police during the incident Friday.

A security guard for Paradise Park Apartments cleaned up shattered glass on the ground outside the unit where the shooting took place.

Picking up a fallen window screen outside the unit, the security guard sighed.

No one has come home yet, she said.

Contact reporter Beth Walton at bwalton@reviewjournal.com or (702) 383-0279.