As shown in a Friday report, White Mountain Apache Police Officer Adrian Lopez, 35, was pulling over a car in Whiteriver when an incident occurred between the officer and the suspect, subsequently identified as Whiteriver resident Kevin Dwight Nashio, 25.
The officer was fatally shot during the altercation, according to the Navajo County Sheriff’s Office.
The suspect fled the scene in the officer’s police car. The suspect was then chased by responding cops to the Hawley Lake region of the Fort Apache Indian Reservation, where authorities caught him and a shooting ensued.
A second cop, Sergeant Lonnie Thompson, 29, was shot and killed in the crossfire, and the suspect was critically injured. For treatment, the cop was sent to a neighboring hospital.
Sheriff David Clouse said in a statement on the unsettling occurrence, the Navajo County Sheriff’s Office would like to express our deepest sympathy for the loss of the White Mountain Apache Police Officer and the Officer who was injured while serving their community today.
“The Tribe is indebted to our Police Department and EMS for their prompt and courageous response, and grateful for the assistance rendered by our neighboring jurisdictions,” the White Mountain Apache Tribe said in a statement. “Our prayers, tonight, are with the families of those officers involved, and with all of our first responders.”
The Federal Bureau of Probe will handle the investigation into the shootings, according to ABC News.
At the time of publishing, FBI spokesperson Kevin Smith informed ABC News that no new information regarding the shootings was immediately available.
