A struggle on Highway I-10 Wednesday night left one Arizona State Trooper dead and another injured after a suspect reportedly got ahold of a trooper’s gun and opened fire.
Per Azcentral, police identified the fallen officer as Trooper Tyler Edenhofer, who had been on the job less than three months and was in training at the time. Trooper Dalin Dorris was shot in the trapezius and is expected to survive, they said.
Officers responded to I-10 in West Valley amid reports regarding someone going “in and out of the roadway” and throwing objects at vehicles. Arizona Department of Public Safety director Colonel Frank Milstead said citizens managed to get the suspect off the road.
Milstead said DPS trooper was the first to arrive, followed by two others. At one point, two Goodyear police officers reportedly also responded to the scene to provide assistance.
Things are said to have turned violent when they attempted to arrest the suspect.
“During the struggle, one of the troopers lost his firearm to the subject, and the subject fired at least two rounds from the duty weapon,” Milstead said.
Information about the suspect’s identity is unavailable at this point in time. KNXV reported that the suspect is being hospitalized and isn’t expected to be released Thursday.
“The DPS family is in mourning. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family,” Milstead said.
“Lives have been shattered and ruined. We’re all in a little bit of a state of shock this morning.”
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