Metro identifies officer who shot carjacking suspect

Sherwood, 31, works in the Metropolitan Police Department’s tourist safety division, traffic bureau and has been on the force since May 2007, the department said in a statement Sunday night.

Sherwood was placed on “routine paid administrative leave pending the outcome of a review of this event,” Metro said.

At 10:52 p.m. Friday, police responded to a report of a robbery and carjacking in the 1400 block of Bow Creek Court near the intersection of Buffalo and Vegas drives, Metro spokesman Jesse Roybal said during a press briefing early Saturday morning. The victim reported she was robbed at gunpoint, and the suspect fled in her white Chevrolet Malibu, Metro said.

Soon after, police arrived at an apartment complex in the 1100 block of North Buffalo Drive and saw a car matching the description of the stolen vehicle disabled on a median landscaping area, police said.

When Sherwood confronted the suspect, 27-year-old Jamal Gwynn, he saw that Gwynn was armed with a handgun. Gwynn did not comply with the officer’s commands, and a brief foot pursuit ensued, followed by a physical confrontation, police said.

Gwynn then ran back toward the patrol car, entered it and attempted to retrieve a shotgun inside the vehicle. Sherwood then fired multiple rounds at Gwynn, who drove toward Sherwood, who fired at him again, police said.

Gwynn crashed through the gate of the complex and continued on to Durango Drive south of Washington Avenue while pursued by a Metro air unit. He came to a stop and surrendered to officers, Metro Lt. T.J. Jenkins said.

Gwynn was taken to University Medical Center with nonlife-threatening injuries, police said. He was later booked into the Clark County Detention Center and will face multiple charges, police said.

This is the sixth officer-involved shooting of 2016.