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State and federal authorities are working together to clarify the case in which three police officers were shot on Isla Verde yesterday.
The incident, the scene of which varies from Carolina to San Juan jurisdiction, left behind a fourth police officer injured by a gunshot whose condition is unknown at the time.
On the other hand, the police did not disclose details of the suspect or suspects in the crime, but assured that they have received information that would enable them to start an identification process through a round of confrontation soon.
Here’s what we know so far:
1 started with a crash
A crash on Roberto Clemente Avenue, near the Carolina Shopping Center, in Carolina, prompted the suspect to kill the officers to try to steal a motorboat from the Carolina Municipal Police and after failing to do so, he stole the A woman’s car, by carjacking, on 65th Infantry Avenue for Clinical Medical Services (CMS), triggering a manhunt to arrest him.
Shoot the Baldorioty
Carolina Municipal Police joined state police to find the whereabouts of the man who drove a 2003 Hyundai Accent, white. In the attempt, they reach Baldorioty de Castro Avenue, near the Embassy Suites hotel and the Mundo condominium Happy , where the suspect shoots the agents repelling the act. During the shooting, two officers were injured, while another died after being run over.
3. Extension of the prosecution
The chase starts from 65th Infantry Avenue and ends in the residential area of Luis Lloréns Torres, where police assure the suspect is hiding.
4. Three officers died in the middle of the prosecution
The officers were identified as Luis Marrero Díaz, of the State Police, and Eliezer Hernández Cartagena and Luis Salamán Conde, of the Carolina Municipal Police.
5. Appoint 7 prosecutors because of the complexity of the crime
Due to the expansion of the scene, the designated Attorney General, Domingo Emanuelli Hernández, assigned seven prosecutors to investigate the events.
The prosecutors are Jorge Umpierre, Jimara Gabriel, Melitza Osorio, Edil Barbosa, Steven Liong, Iris Martínez Juarbe and Alfredo Carrión, the director of the Metropolitan Center for Investigations and Complaints (CMID).
6. The FBI is cooperating on the case
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) reported that it will work with local authorities during the development of the investigation.
7. They develop searches
Two United Rapid Action Forces (FURA) helicopters were activated to assist in the search for the alleged crime suspect in the Luis Lloréns Torres residence.
The operation has been taking place since last night and will continue until the person’s whereabouts are found, according to the police commissioner.
As part of the search, authorities raided an apartment where they seized various weapons, ammunition and another set of items from drug trafficking. However, it has not been reported whether that property is related to or belongs to the suspect.
8. Pierluisi declares three days of mourning
Governor Pedro Pierluisi declared three days of national mourning this morning as part of the murder of the three police officers while on duty in Carolina yesterday.
9. They find a body with a mark that qualified him as the author of the crime
At approximately 1:59 a.m. on San Jose Street, the intersection with Muñoz Rivera Avenue, in Santurce, authorities found the lifeless body of a man accompanied by a sign stating that he was the alleged killer of the troops.
Police linked this scene to the incident, as the body, which they found between garbage bags, had “similar characteristics” to the agents’ alleged murderer.
The individual wore gray shorts and a black shirt, had one tattoo on his right arm that read ‘Sofia’ and another on his right leg with the design of a caravel.
10. The high order of public security comes together
The murders of these three police officers are accompanied by another seven that took place in different parts of the island last night. The events prompted the chief police district directors and the Department of Public Safety to meet in an emergency today at 7:00 a.m. to outline a plan to develop the investigation into the Carolina events and expand resources to support the remainder to investigate violent deaths.
11. Awaiting the Institute of Forensic Science
Police indicated at a press conference today that they will await the autopsy report on the body found in Santurce to establish the process to be followed in the investigation of the officers’ murder.
Lieutenant Colonel Rolando Trinidad indicated that they cannot be categorical by confirming that the body with a sign found this morning belongs to the killer of the police officers. On the contrary, the also deputy director of the island-level Criminal Investigations Division said the search operation is continuing.