Thread: AZ. Trooper was shot by illegal alien/ex-Mexican Federal Police

Authorities: Trooper was shot by driver he sought to help


JACQUES BILLEAUD
Associated Press January 17, 2017
2,526 Comments

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This undated photo provided by the Arizona Department of Public Safety shows Leonard Pennelas-Escobar. An Arizona state trooper who was beaten and shot while responding to a traffic collision on Interstate 10 was attacked Thursday, Jan. 12, 2017, by Pennelas-Escobar, who was responsible for the one-vehicle rollover, authorities said. (Arizona Department of Public Safety via AP) More


PHOENIX (AP) — The man who shot and severely beat an Arizona state trooper last week was a former member of the Mexican federal police who was in the country illegally, authorities said.

He had rolled his car on Interstate 10 before he inexplicably attacked the officer who had stopped to help.

Leonard Pennelas-Escobar opened fire on Trooper Edward Andersson early Thursday after the officer had stopped on the interstate and set up flares in a bid to get motorists to slow down. Pennelas-Escobar said something unrecognizable in Spanish before shooting the trooper, and then he started landing blows with his fists and beating the trooper's head on the ground, Department of Public Safety Director Frank Milstead said Monday.

A passing motorist who witnessed the attack retrieved a handgun from his vehicle and fired two shots at Pennelas-Escobar after he refused an order to stop attacking Andersson. With Pennelas-Escobar incapacitated, the motorist tended to the wounded trooper but was later drawn back into the dispute when Pennelas-Escobar got up and resumed his assault on Andersson. The motorist then fired a fatal shot at Pennelas-Escobar.

"He definitely kept him (Andersson) from having much more serious neurological injuries from this beating," Milstead said.

Milstead called a news conference Monday to offer more detail on the chaotic scene, but he was unable to provide an explanation on why Pennelas-Escobar attacked the officer.

The 37-year-old Pennelas-Escobar was in the country illegally, a drug user and was believed to have once worked as a Mexican police officer, Milstead said.

Still, Pennelas-Escobar had no known criminal history.

Andersson arrived at the rollover scene about 55 miles west of downtown Phoenix to find Pennelas-Escobar holding his injured girlfriend, 23-year-old Vanessa Monique Lopez-Ruiz, on the edge of the roadway.

She had been ejected in the high-speed rollover and was later pronounced dead. The cause of the collision hasn't yet been determined. Pennelas-Escobar was believed to have been the vehicle's driver.

Andersson, a 27-year department veteran, suffered gunshot wounds to the right shoulder and chest. He underwent surgery and has since been released from the hospital.

The motorist who shot Pennelas-Escobar hasn't spoken out publicly about the shooting.

Milstead said the motorist didn't serve in the military or work as a law enforcement officer, but he still had experience in using firearms. The DPS director described the motorist as a humble man with a strong religious faith.

"He knows he did the right thing," Milstead said. "He is trying to reconcile that in his mind, which is difficult to take a life even when you know it's the right thing to do."

Arizona has a "defense of third person" law that allows someone to use deadly force against another who is threatening or injuring a third person. It was not unusual that the passing driver was armed in this gun-friendly state with loose regulation.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/authoriti...225458260.html

Wow! What a story!! God bless this brave, competent and decent motorist for taking out a killer and probably saving the life of Trooper Andersson.

".... the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed."

2nd Amendment, US Constitution

Get these drug crazed, violent, bad driver illegals out of here NOW!

Absolutely! GET THEM OUT NOW!!! ALL OF THEM!! EVERY ILLEGAL ALIEN MUST GO HOME OR BE CARRIED THERE!!

Tyler McNally | 6 hours ago

The perpetrator of an attack upon an Arizona state trooper two weeks ago was revealed to be a former Mexican police officer traveling in the United States illegally officials report.

Leonard Pennelas-Escobar, 37-years old, reportedly shot Arizona State Trooper Edward Andersson twice after Pennelas-Escobar's vehicle flipped on Interstate 10.

According to ABC News, Andersson "had stopped on the interstate and set up flares in a bid to get motorists to slow down." It was during this time that Pennelas-Escobar shot and began to physically attack Andersson.

A witness to the attack then retrieved a handgun and proceeded to shoot Pennalas-Escobar two times before firing a third fatal shot after Pennelas-Escobar resumed attacking Andersson.

Department of Public Safety Director Frank Milstead said that, while Pennelas-Escobar had no prior criminal history, he was in the country illegally and was a drug user.

Pennelas-Escobar's 23-year old girlfriend Vanessa Monique Lopez-Ruiz was injured in the accident, and later succumbed to the injuries at a local hospital.

Andersson was released from the hospital after receiving surgery to remove the projectiles.

http://www.mrctv.org/blog/arizona-st...police-officer

So glad Andersson was saved by the brave passerby and that he is now home and I hope doing well.