Carjacker who killed three police officers and injured a fourth after a traffic accident sought in Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico authorities with help of the FBI are hunting for a motorist who killed three police officers and stole a car as he attempted to flee from cops.
Municipal police officers Eliezer Hernández and Luis Salamán, 30, were shot dead and state cop Luis Marrero, 42, was run over Monday near the island's capital. A fourth police officer was injured in the violent confrontation.
The suspect was identified by local media outlets at Carlos Cotto, 33, who was still at large as of Tuesday.
The surviving cop reportedly drove himself to a local hospital where he was treated for his injuries.
Luis Marrero is one of the three police officers in Puerto Rico who were killed by a carjacker identified by local media as Carlos Cotto on Monday. Marrero, 42, leaves behind three daughters
Eliezer Hernández was shot dead while responding to a traffic accident in Isla Verde, Puerto Rico, on Monday
Luis Salamán, one of the three cops who were killed by a carjacker Monday in Isla Verde, Puerto Rico. The FBI has joined local authorities in the search for the suspect, Carlos Cotto
Carlos Cotto allegedly opened fired on cops responding to a traffic incident he was involved in Monday in Puerto Rico, and shot dead two agents and killed a third cop he ran over before fleeing
The incident occurred at approximately 3:50pm in the popular tourist district of Isla Verde on one of the U.S. territory's busiest highways near the island's main international airport, Luis Muñoz MarÃn International Airport, causing a severe traffic jam.
According to news outlet Primer Hora, Hernández and Salamán had responded to a traffic accident on route PR-3 involving Cotto's Hyundai Tuscon.
Cotto subsequently fired at the cops, killing Hernández, and attempted to flee in another cop's motorcycle but fell to the ground when he was hit by the driver of a vehicle who was seeking refuge from the gunfire.
Still image from a resident in Isla Verde, Puerto Rico, captures the frantic moment law enforcement agents rushed to aid the police officers who were shot at by a carjacker on Monday
Still image from a video recorded by motorist shows injured cops lying on the highway pavement in Isla Verde, Puerto Rico, after they were attacked by a carjacker, identified by local media as Carlos Cotto, who remains at large
Federal agents and local authorities storm the Luis Llores Torrens housing projects in Santurce, Puerto Rico, in search of Carlo Cotto, who allegedly killed three cops after he fled the scene of a traffic accident and carjacked a woman
Cotto then forced a woman out of her white Hyundai Accent and led the cops on a chase, running over Marrero, a father of three daughters. He also shot Salamán near the Embassy Suites hotel in Isla Verde before he escaped. Salamán was rushed to a local hospital and declared dead.
Video leaked on social media Monday night showed the moment federal agents and police searching an apartment in the Luis Llores Torrens housing projects in the city of Santurce, where the car was found abandoned, and recovered a cache of drugs and weapons.
Local media outlets reported authorities discovered the body of a dead man, who resembled Cotto, near a landfill in Hato Rey late Monday. The body had a piece of a cardboard box placed over it with message scribbled in Spanish that read: 'I am responsible for the murder of the guards. I'm here.'
Cache of weapons and bullet proof vests seized from an apartment at the Luis Llores Torres housing projects in Santurce on Monday night
Police commissioner Antonio López said Tuesday forensic workers were still working to identify the victim's identity.
It was the first time in recent history that so many Puerto Rico police officers were slain in one incident.
'I've never had a scene like this,' Capt. José González told AP.
Drugs confiscated by federal agents and local authorities at an apartment in Santurce, Puerto Rico, on Monday night as the hunt intensified for Carlos Cotto, identified by local media outlets as the carjacker who killed three cops and injured a fourth
Ricardo Pérez, 52, was the lone officer killed in 2020 when he was shot dead by assassins aboard a motorcycle May 1 while he was on his way to work.
FBI spokeswoman Limary Cruz told AP that the agency was collaborating with local police but had no plans at present to take jurisdiction of the case.
Governor Pedro Pierluisi, who was sworn in earlier this month, said he visited the wounded officer at the hospital and lamented the deaths of the other three.
'This loss of life has to stop now,' he wrote in a Facebook post. 'There will be an investigation to identify the guilty, and they will be tried to the fullest extent of the law.'