3 Puerto Rico police officers killed in shooting at Ponce police station

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By BNO NEWS

A police officer has opened fire at a police station in Puerto Rico, killing three fellow officers, officials say. The shooter has been taken into custody but the circumstances of the killings were not immediately known.

Puerto Rico Police said the shooting happened on Monday morning at the regional police headquarters in Ponce, a city on the island’s southern coast, about 45 miles (73 kilometers) southwest of San Juan.

Police said that those killed were a police commander, a lieutenant, and an officer. Their names were not immediately released, but the El Nuevo Día newspaper identified those killed as 49-year-old Commander Frank Román, 49-year-old Lieutenant Luz M. Soto, and 42-year-old officer Rosario Hernández de Hoyo.

“The officer suspected of killing the three police officers at Ponce Command has been detained,” police said in a statement, which did not disclose any information about the circumstances of the shooting. The suspect, a 50-year-old officer with 9 years of service, was taken to an area hospital for treatment.

“There are no words to describe this tragedy in which three colleagues have lost their lives,” Deputy Superintendent Col. Juan Rodriguez Davila said in a statement. “Our condolences are with the families.”

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