Puerto Rico Policeman Takes 3 Colleagues Hostage Before Shooting Them

From left: Suspected shooter Guarionex Candelario Rivera, Luz M. Soto Segarra, Rosario Hernandez de Hoyos and Frank Roman Rodriguez. (Puerto Rico Police)

An officer with the Puerto Rico Police took two high-ranking officers and a policewoman hostage at police headquarters in the city of Ponce on Monday morning, before shooting and killing them. Prior to the shooting, the officers had engaged in a dispute. The suspect, identified by police officials as Guarionex Candelario, held three hostages – a female lieutenant, a male commander, and a female officer – in the lieutenant’s office following an argument, police spokeswoman Mayra Ayala told the Associated Press.

RT report continues:

Ayala said police were attempting to begin negotiations with the suspect when he started shooting his hostages.

Candelario, 50, was arrested for the murder of his supervisor, Lieutenant Luz M. Soto Segarra 49, Commander Frank Roman, 49, and officer Rosario Hernandez de Hoyos, 42.

Candelario, who worked in Ponce's anti-drug division, had been stripped of his weapon for a time, but had it returned about two years ago following a psychological evaluation, police said, according to the New York Daily News.

"This is a very tragic situation that appalls us all especially because it occurred during the holidays," said police spokesman Axel Valencia.

Candelario was arrested on the scene. He sustained injuries when police stormed the office, but they are not life-threatening, police said.

The station in Ponce, a southern coastal town in Puerto Rico, was evacuated after a police explosives division found a “suspicious” device in the suspect’s car. They did not confirm what, if anything, had been found upon investigation, AP reported.

"Ponce is in mourning," Mayor Maria Melendez said in a statement. "May God give the family members of the police officers involved the strength, fortitude and serenity to absorb this news."

Lieutenant Soto and Commander Roman both had more than 20 years of experience with Puerto Rico’s police department. In 2014, Roman was named Commander of the Year for Ponce.

"They were both excellent people," Jose Cruz Martinez, vice president of the Puerto Rican Police Union, told AP. "They were always supportive of their coworkers."

Tragedy In Blue: Three Police Officers Killed By A Fourth In Puerto Rico

Fox News reports that a policeman in the Puerto Rican city of Ponce entered the office of his commanding officer, held her and two other members of the force hostage, and then fatally shot all three. The shooter, identified as Guarionex Candelario Rivera, was arrested immediately afterward.

The incident took place Monday morning following an argument at work that temporarily shut down the station in the U.S. territory's second largest city, authorities said. 

The suspect held a female lieutenant, a male commander and a policewoman hostage before he killed them, police spokeswoman Mayra Ayala told the Associated Press. She said authorities were about to start negotiations with the suspect when the victims were killed. 

Police did not yet have information on a motive, Ayala said.

According to local media, El Nuevo Día and El Vocero de Puerto Rico, 50-year-old Candelario spent 19 years on the force but had been kept on restricted duties for long stretches because of “problematic behavior.” He worked in the anti-drug division. 

Gov. Alejandro García Padilla told reporters that the suspect was injured during the shooting and remains hospitalized. García declined to say what kind of injuries the officer received and how they were inflicted.

"This is a very tragic situation that appalls us all especially because it occurred during the holidays," said police spokesman Axel Valencia.

Authorities evacuated the station to investigate threats of a possible explosive device in the suspect's car, but they did not say whether anything was found.

Police said at a press conference that the suspect previously had been stripped of his weapon but received a psychological evaluation nearly two years ago and his weapon was returned. Authorities declined to provide any other details, saying the investigation was barely starting.

"Ponce is in mourning," Mayor María Melendez said in a statement. "May God give the family members of the police officers involved the strength, fortitude and serenity to absorb this news."

Officials said the victims were 1st Lt. Luz Soto Segarra and Cmdr. Frank Román Rodríguez, both 49, and policewoman Rosario Hernández de Hoyo. Soto's husband also was a police lieutenant, said José Cruz Martínez, vice president of the Puerto Rican Police Union.

Soto and Román each had been with Puerto Rico's police department for more than 20 years, said Cruz, adding that they had been his friends for 15 years.

"They were both excellent people," Cruz said in a phone interview. "They were always supportive of their coworkers."

Cruz said he and his wife would occasionally go on motorcycle road trips with Soto and her husband, who lived in the nearby town of Yauco. He said Román was originally from the western town of Mayaguez.

"He rarely had any time off," Cruz said of Román.

Valencia said Román was named Commander of the Year for Ponce in 2014.

Based on reporting by the Associated Press.