Henderson restaurant to host benefit for officer shot at protest
Big B’s Texas BBQ will host a fundraiser for Metropolitan Police Department officer Shay Mikalonis, who was shot during a June 1 protest on the Strip, on Thursday at its Henderson location, 3019 St. Rose Parkway.
The event, which has been dubbed Henderson Helps, will run from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the restaurant, which is adjacent to Dignity Health’s Rehabilitation Hospital. It’s being organized by the Injured Police Officers Fund. Those who want to show their support will be able to make a donation, sign a support banner, purchase a T-shirt or grab a bite, with the restaurant donating all of the day’s profits to the officer’s family.
“The Las Vegas community has always been known to come together in the face of traumatic events like this,” Big B’s owner Natalia Badzjo says. “And in this time of a lot of conflict, and different opinions that are not on the same page, I think the Las Vegas community needs to come together once again and help someone in need. In this case it’s an injured officer and his family.”
Mikalonis is paralyzed from the neck down as a result of the incident, according to a tweet posted Saturday night from a Metro account “with permission from Officer Mikalonis’ family.” The same message said the officer was awake but on a ventilator and unable to speak. He has reportedly undergone two surgeries, including one to remove a bullet from his neck. The shooting suspect, 20-year-old Edgar Samaniego, faces attempted murder and other charges after telling police he fired the shot to scare protesters into leaving.
Contact Al Mancini at amancini@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlManciniVegas on Twitter and Instagram.
