Three suspects were in custody Saturday after investigators said one of them shot a New Mexico police officer in the neck during a Friday afternoon traffic stop, killing him, before trying to speed away.
Two of the suspects have criminal records and were wanted for murder in a shooting last month that killed a 62-year-old man in Ohio, The Chillicothe Gazette reported.
After Friday's shooting, crews airlifted Hatch, N.M. Police Officer Jose Chavez to a hospital in El Paso, Texas where he died, according to officials.
The officer had just arrived at the traffic stop in Dona Ana County Friday afternoon when a passenger got out of the vehicle and fired shots, police said.
The three suspects, all men, sped off in a car at speeds topping 100 miles per hour, county sheriff's officials said.
They got off I-25 at a rest stop and carjacked a Chevrolet Cruze, shooting the driver, Dona Ana County Sheriff’s spokesperson Kelly Jameson told Fox News.
More law enforcement officers joined the pursuit, deploying a device to deflate the car's tires. The chase finally ended at a home near I-85 when the driver crashed into a pile of wood, KFOX 14 reported. One of the suspects reportedly was shot in the leg.
