Sheriff: Shootings leave 1 tribal officer dead, 2nd wounded

WHITERIVER, Ariz. (AP) — One tribal police officer was killed and a second wounded in two related shootings on a Native American reservation in eastern Arizona, officials said Friday.

The suspect also was killed in the second of the two shooting that occurred Thursday night on the Fort Apache Indian Reservation of the White Mountain Apache Tribe, the Navajo County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement released on behalf of the tribe.

One officer was fatally shot during an altercation after a traffic stop of a vehicle driven by the suspect in the town of Whiteriver, the statement said.

The suspect then stole the slain officer’s police vehicle and was pursued by other tribal officers, leading to a “gun battle” in a remote area of the reservation in which another officer was wounded and the suspect killed, the statement said.

The statement said the wounded officer was flown to a hospital in metro Phoenix. No condition information was released.

No identities were released.