Three officers were seriously wounded during a shooting ambush carried out by a self-admitted MS-13 gang member who was on the loose despite facing a slew of felony charges, according to authorities.
The shocking attack unfolded on Tuesday night in Pueblo.
Pueblo police were seeking a man identified as Billy Soto, 34, in connection with an attempted murder last month, the Colorado Sun reports.
Soto shot one officer while firing approximately 80 rounds from an AR-15 rifle.
Soto was eventually gunned down as he tried to flee, but not before he shot two more officers.
All three officers survived and are in stable condition, but “have a long road to recovery,” according to Pueblo Police Chief Chis Noeller.
Noeller ripped Colorado lawmakers for passing “soft on crime legislation” that ensured Soto was not behind bars despite 14 prior arrests, including three pending felony charges.
“Our officers were ambushed and shot by a malicious person who should have been in jail,” Chief Noeller stated during a press conference on Wednesday.
“This year, they continue to try to take away any tool we have available to hold criminals accountable, and when we find ways around their weak policies, they try to take those options away from us, as well.”
“I for one am sick of it. I am sick of my officers taking these risks and being held to this kind of crime with no recourse and our community should be sick of it. The blood of my officers lays at the steps of the Capitol,” he stated.
BREAKING: Pueblo police chief slams Colorado Democrats “soft-on-crime legislation” following Tuesday night’s ambush shooting of three police officers by an MS-13 gang member, armed with a rifle who fired over 80 rounds.
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Soto’s immigration status remains unclear at this time.
An investigation is ongoing.
The Trump administration recently designated La Mara Salvatrucha, also known as MS-13, as a Foreign Terrorist Organization.
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