HATCH, N.M. — A police officer is dead and three suspects are in custody after a shooting at a traffic stop in New Mexico, authorities say.
The shooting occurred when the unidentified officer pulled over a vehicle in Hatch on Friday, according to the Dona Ana County Sheriff’s Department.
Another Hatch officer had just arrived at the traffic stop to assist the first officer when a passenger from the vehicle exited and fired shots,” the Sheriff’s Department said in a statement.
The first officer was shot and rushed to the hospital, where he had surgery before he was pronounced dead.
The suspects fled the scene and traveled southbound on Interstate 25, at times exceeding speeds of 100 mph, according to authorities.
The assisting officer tried to pursue them without success.
About 25 minutes after the initial traffic stop, the suspects exited at a rest stop, where one carjacked a red Chevrolet Cruze, authorities said.
Its owner was shot during the carjacking, and was transported to the hospital, the Sheriff’s Department said.
Sheriff’s deputies saw the Cruze and pursued the car, deploying a tire-deflating device that successfully flattened its tires.
The fallen officer is a two-year veteran of the Hatch Police Department.