The mother of a Metropolitan Police Department officer killed in the line of duty said her son was a kind, gentle man who worked in law enforcement to help the most vulnerable in the Las Vegas Valley.
“He said he enjoyed working with the homeless, to make a difference,” said Amy Harvey, of South Carolina. “He gave selflessly to his job.”
Harvey’s son, Austin “Zade” Abdelnabi, 30, was shot while responding to a man with a gun call at 3:57 p.m. Tuesday in east Las Vegas. Authorities said the gunman was waving a firearm in the 4500 block of East Tropicana Avenue. Metro Capt. Adam Seely said officers found the suspect in the 5400 block of Mountain Vista Street, near Interstate 11.
The suspect “immediately opened fire upon officers” after officers contacted the suspect, and at least one officer returned fire toward the suspect.
Abdelnabi was shot in the exchange, although Metro had not identified the officer by name as of Wednesday morning. Abdelnabi was rushed to University Medical Center where he died. The gunman died at the scene. He has not been identified.
Abdelnabi’s brother, Ryan Abdelnabi, posted a touching tribute to his sibling on Facebook.
“There are moments in life that change you forever,” Ryan Abdelnabi wrote. “Tonight is one of them. My brother was taken from us in the line of duty.”
He called his brother “a man who dedicated his life to serving something greater than himself. To me, he was simply my brother. The person I shared a lifetime of memories with, laughed with, argued with, looked up to, and loved unconditionally.”
“It’s impossible to put into words the emptiness I feel knowing I’ll never hear his voice again, never get another phone call, never make another memory together. A piece of my heart left with him tonight.”
The brother added: “He believed in protecting others, even when it came at great personal risk. That wasn’t just his profession—it was his character. He lived a life defined by courage, honor, loyalty, and selfless service.”
Harvey said her son was born in Greenville, South Carolina, and graduated from Blue Ridge High School. Everyone knew him as “Zade,” she said, and he also had the nickname of Smiley.
“I’ve never heard him raise his voice,” Harvey said. “I’ve never heard him cuss anybody. He was just a good boy.”
After graduating from high school, Austin Abdelnabi joined the Marines where he served as a machine gunner in infantry for about four years.
“He was a really good wrestler,” Harvey said. “He took a Marine wrestling (class) and he excelled at that. He beat everybody so he had to fight the instructor.”
Austin Abdelnabi was a graduate of Clemson University where he studied criminal justice. He was a big fan of the Clemson Tigers and the Carolina Panthers football team, his mother said.
“He applied to the police force there” in Las Vegas, Harvey said. “He went through it and he said it was as hard as boot camp in the Marines.”
Harvey said her son, who was married, became a cop in Las Vegas to “protect people.”
Ryan Abdelnabi wrote in his Facebook post that his brother “answered a calling that few are willing to answer, and he gave everything in its pursuit. I couldn’t have been more proud to call him my brother.”
“As our family tries to process a loss that still doesn’t feel real, I ask for your prayers — not only for us, but for everyone who loved him, his fellow officers, his Marine brothers, and all those whose lives he touched,” he wrote. “If you knew him, remember his laugh, his strength, his kindness, and the way he always showed up for others. If you didn’t know him, know this: the world is a better place because he was in it.”
Contact Glenn Puit at gpuit@reviewjournal.com.
