At around 4:00 a.m. on January 12th, State Troopers responded to milepost 89 westbound along I-10 for reports of shots fired. Upon arrival, one of our Troopers, a 27-year veteran, located a rollover collision in the area. Our trooper was ambushed and shot by a suspect in the immediate area. A physical fight ensued and as a result the suspect was shot and killed. An occupant of a vehicle that rolled-over in the same area was ejected and pronounced deceased at the hospital. We have not confirmed the identification of the suspect or the occupant of the vehicle that was ejected.

At 4:20am – A citizen called in from Interstate 10 at milepost 81 advising our dispatch that his vehicle had been shot at while he drove. Our responding trooper came across a one vehicle rollover. The trooper saw an injured female who was later determined to be a passenger from the vehicle. At that moment, a suspect appeared out of the dark and shot the trooper in the shoulder disabling the use of his right hand. A physical fight ensued between the suspect and the trooper with the suspect striking the trooper’s head on the pavement.

At that point, an uninvolved third party traveling to California with his wife stopped at the scene, got out of his vehicle and asked the trooper if he needed help. The trooper requested his assistance. That person went back to his vehicle, retrieved his weapon and told the suspect to stop. The suspect refused. The bystander shot and killed the suspect.

The citizen then picks up the DPS radio and calls dispatch for help.

At the hospital is a deceased female from the roll-over, the dead suspect and the trooper who is an incredibly tough individual in stable condition who underwent surgery