Description
On August 28th, 2026, at approximately 5:16 a.m., Officer Donegan and another LVMPD
officer were parked near the 6300 block of West Charleston Boulevard. The officers were
on a brief lunch break when a female, later identified as Catalina Alvarado, approached
them armed with a knife. Alvarado proceeded to the front of one of the patrol vehicles, at
which time she began yelling at the officers and banging on the vehicle with a knife.
The officers were initially parked door to door, and as such Officer Donegan quickly
repositioned her vehicle before re-approaching the suspect. Officer Donegan immediately
began issuing verbal commands for the suspect to drop the weapon. The suspect refused
to comply and began hitting Officer Donegan’s patrol vehicle with the knife.
At one point, Alvarado demanded for officer Donegan shoot her. To de-escalate the
situation, the secondary officer discharged his Electronic Control Device several times
toward the suspect. The probes struck Alvarado’s clothing but were ultimately ineffective.
Alvarado then continued to advance toward Officer Donegan, still armed with the knife.
As a result of the suspect’s actions, Officer Donegan discharged her firearm one time,
striking Alvarado. Immediately following the shooting, officers took the suspect into
custody and quickly began rendering aid. Medical personnel arrived shortly after and
transported Alvarado to a nearby hospital where she is currently listed in stable condition.