EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) – Multiple law enforcement agencies were involved in a Wednesday morning pursuit that ended with part of Interstate 10 and Gateway West being shut down, and two people being taken to the hospital.
According to Chief David Burton, with the Socorro Police Department (SPD), the entire event started at 9:35 a.m., as SPD officers attempted to contact the unnamed, 27-year-old man involved in a domestic incident at a home in Socorro.
Almost an hour later, the suspect ran out of the home, took off in a pickup truck and Socorro officers began their pursuit. The chase headed eastbound on Socorro Road to San Elizario.
Burton says a short time later, the driver crashed at the intersection of Dindinger and Socorro Road, where he abandoned the first truck and carjacked another vehicle. Officials say it was the first of two carjackings the suspect would do during the chase.
The pursuit continued to San Elizario, where the driver took numerous side streets, through residential neighborhoods, attempting to lose law enforcement.
After a brief period, police again picked up the chase, which then weaved it’s way down Socorro Road, to Alameda, then Zaragoza and finally on to I-10.
Shortly after 11 a.m., the suspect – only identified as a 27-year-old-man, crashed on I-10, the truck coming to rest on the shoulder of the road, after striking a road service truck.
Police say the suspect suffered unspecified injuries and was taken to the hospital.
During the entire duration of the chase, officials say that the victim fired a weapon at law enforcement officers and bystanders as well.
In addition to firing a weapon numerous times, officials say the man also turned on the gas in the home for an unknown reason.
The El Paso County Sheriff’s Office is the lead agency in the investigation, with the Texas Rangers following up on the law enforcement’s use of force during the incident.
A spokesperson for El Paso Fire Department confirms that there were two transports from the scene, one minor injury and a second transport, with “serious injuries.”
Officials also say that no responding law enforcement personnel were injured as a result of the pursuit; however some of their vehicles were damaged.
Dozens of law enforcement officers, including police officers, sheriff’s deputies, Texas Department of Public Safety troopers, U.S. Border Patrol agents, and U.S. Deputy Marshals could be seen on I-10 and on the gateway Wednesday morning, directly in front of the Rush Truck Center on the 12200 block of Gateway West.
A video posted on the social media page showed the heavy law enforcement presence around a red pickup truck, believed to be involved in the incident.
A text alert from El Paso police at 11:17 a.m. said officers were currently assisting the sheriff’s office at Zaragosa and Gateway West. “We have no additional information at this time,” the alert said.
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