
Getty A man kneels and holds up his fist during a prayer vigil at a memorial site for George Floyd.
A prayer vigil was held today for Las Vegas Metropolitan Police officer Shay Mikalonis.
Mikalonis, 29, is in a critical condition after being shot in the head outside Circus Circus Casino on the Las Vegas Strip yesterday.
A suspect, 20-year-old Edgar Samaniego, was arrested by police in relation to the crime and appeared in court today, June 3, on one count of attempted murder and two counts of discharging a gun where a person might be endangered. The judge in the Las Vegas Justice Court ordered that he be held without bail.
Speaking at a news conference this morning, Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman joined Metro Police and faith leaders in calling for peace.
“We are a family of people … any color, any faith, any belief in anything, we are a family of one people,” Goodman said, in reference to the actions of the Las Vegas officers at yesterday’s shootings.
News conference regarding civil unrest in Las Vegas #8NN
LIVE: https://t.co/5X6olcZxKM
— 8 News NOW (@8NewsNow) May 31, 2020
Fox5 reported that the community was praying for Mikalonis today while he remained in a critical condition at UMC Hospital:
Everett Wilson, a Christian who came to UMC to pray for the Mikalonis family, told 3LV News there had been “So many tears shed … we need to go to the creator of all of us to bring us back together.”
Looted Kentucky Kroger Store Rebuilds
While Vegas was lifting up Mikalonis in prayer, a looted Kentucky grocery store was slowly rebuilding their shattered lives following a series of destructive riots in the city.
And they believe they have one person to thank for it – God.
Moving video shows the moments the Kroger store on 2710 block of West Broadway in Louisville, Kentucky, reopens with praises following devastating looting of their store on Tuesday morning:
HAPPENING NOW: A prayer service at 28th and Broadway Kroger hit by looters early Tuesday morning. The Kroger reopened today and crowds are gathering for a faith service. @WDRBNews pic.twitter.com/fS8ACXQPcz
— Jessica Bard (@JessBardReports) June 3, 2020
The store was looted early yesterday morning, June 2, during protests for George Floyd, a black man who died while in police custody last week.
WLKY’s Marvis Herring reported that the store has “bounced back quickly” and was operating on reduced hours:
OPEN FOR BUSINESS:@kroger on W. Broadway bounces back quickly after early Tuesday morning looting destroyed this store.
I talked to grateful residents as the store operates on limited hours 8a-4pmhttps://t.co/0KQ2m5Y6um
@WLKY pic.twitter.com/oXYqLM6rBo— Marvis Herring (@Marvis_WLKY) June 3, 2020
According to WDRB, the ATM outside the store was seriously damaged in an attack:
ATM is damaged and out of service at the Kroger that was looted last night at 26th and Broadway. @WDRBNews I’m on the scene with @LRatterman_WDRB pic.twitter.com/qLUuLvHp8l
— Sterling Riggs (@SRiggsWDRB) June 2, 2020
The ATM can be seen being vandalized in a Facebook Livestream from the riots:
You are on the scene now. Why not anyone yesterday when over 10,000 people watched on live stream of it all happeninghttps://t.co/j8bS4qXyOn
— Raftingdon2 (@raftingdon2) June 2, 2020
Kroger was one of two stores on Broadway looted early Tuesday morning, despite the fact the shop had been boarded up.
WLKY spoke with locals, who denounced the actions of the looters and assisted with the clean up the next day:
“This Kroger has been here since I was a little girl. A lot of people shop here, especially the elderly,” one woman said. “This is one of the only Kroger stores in the area and most people won’t have transportation to travel to other stores.”
“For looters: stop it,” said area resident Rick Dulin. “Don’t destroy our own neighborhood. Don’t burn down our own house. It’s not necessary.”
Kroger released a statement saying while they were saddened by the events of the evening, they were grateful associates and customers were not harmed.
Prayer Unites a Nation Looking for Answers
Across America, people were turning to prayer for answers in a time of unprecedented confusion.
Prayer vigils and peaceful protests were held from Brooklyn to Virginia as a counterpoint to the current riots.
At Virginia Beach’s Mount Trashmore, people of all creeds and backgrounds, including police and interfaith leaders, came together to remember George Floyd and address what they called “systematic racism.”
“I have more friends of color than friends that look like me,” Virginia Beach resident Jessica Shepard said. “Just knowing that they have to live in fear is heartbreaking for me.”
Peaceful demonstrations in New York also saw hundreds of pastors and thousands of parishioners representing the 30 different denominations of New York’s five boroughs, and New Jersey, descend on Brooklyn for a Tuesday evening prayer march.
While “#prayforshay” & “#christjesus” Trend on Twitter, Images of Trump & Hitler Holding a Bible Are Shared
The campaign #prayforshay, calling on the public to pray for the injured Las Vegas shooting victim Shay Mikalonis, was gaining momentum on Twitter today. Some sources said Mikalonis had emerged from surgery, but remained on a ventilator (the Las Vegas Review Journal later confirmed this:)
Update on Las Vegas Metro Police Officer: Shay Mikalonis is out of surgery. Removed most of the bullet and MRI shows no brain damage. Staying on ventilator for now. Drugs are beginning to decrease. He's fighting for his life. The family wants this news to be spread. Please pray pic.twitter.com/JrDODyopY7
— Tari Riddle (@TariRiddle) June 3, 2020
The best news to wake up to this morning #ShayMikalonis #mikalonisstrong pic.twitter.com/sAkYs21NGH
— relentless_runner14 (@the_a_a_ron14) June 3, 2020
Meanwhile, as the hashtag #christjesus rose in popularity, two contrasting images were seen across the internet in relation to religion.
In one, Adolf Hitler is seen holding a bible. The image was later revealed to be photoshopped. BuzzFeed Editor Craig Silverman posted the two pictures, the original and the photoshopped version, side by side:
A lot of people are sharing an image that appears to show Trump and Hitler holding a bible in the same way. The Trump pic is from June 1, but the Hitler pic was photoshopped to add the bible. pic.twitter.com/hmaxYfXCxt
— Craig Silverman (@CraigSilverman) June 2, 2020
A real image of President Trump holding a bible outside St. John’s Church in Washington, which was recently damaged by fire during protests, was also making the rounds on the web today.

Twitter/ @thejtlewisPresident Trump holds a bible outside St. John’s Church in Washington.
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