2 Tucson officers shot serving arrest warrant; suspect dead
TUCSON, Ariz. – Two Tucson officers were wounded and a suspect was killed following a shooting during an attempted arrest on the city’s south side on Thursday.
One officer was shot in the shoulder area, but the bullet went through his chest, leaving him in critical but stable condition, according to spokesman Sgt. Pete Dugan. The officer is out of surgery and in the intensive care unit. The other officer was shot in the leg and is doing well. He was expected to leave the hospital Thursday.
The suspect, a 28-year-old man who was wanted on an arrest warrant, was killed. Neither the officers nor the suspect have been identified.
Dugan says the incident began Thursday when the officers, who are members of a special unit that tracks down wanted suspects, attempted to arrest the man at an apartment.
Investigators are still sorting through what happened next, Dugan said, but the officers and the suspect, who was wanted on an aggravated assault warrant, exchanged gunfire. The suspect died shortly after the shooting.
Both officers were being treated at Banner - University Medical Center Tucson, previously known as University of Arizona Medical Center.
“It’s extremely stressful for obviously the families of both officers, the officers who work with them and just the police department. Anytime we have an officer hit or injured it really hits home for officers,” Dugan said.
The shooting marked the second time a Tucson officer has been shot in the past two months.
Officer Robert Miranda, a 12-year veteran of the department, was grazed in the head by a bullet in late October after getting into a shootout with a suspect.
Police said the shooting unfolded after Miranda and a fellow officer spotted 33-year-old Marcus De La Torre breaking several traffic laws while driving a motorized bike, police said. The officers tried to pull the suspect over, but he fled and later fired at Miranda while running away.
Miranda is in good condition. De La Torre, who was wounded in the shooting, is being held at the Pima County Jail with bond set at $500,000. He faces charges of attempted murder, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and possession of a weapon when prohibited.
“It’s an extremely dangerous job, it really is,” Dugan said.
