Two Laredo officers injured in shootout released from hospital

Two Laredo police officers released from hospital Sunday, 1 remains hospitalized

SAN ANTONIO

Two of three officers injured in a shootout in Laredo earlier this week have been released from San Antonio hospitals.

Officers Arturo Vela and Mario Casares Jr. were released from University Hospital and San Antonio Military Medical center Sunday night. Officer Agapito Perez remains at University Hospital; it's unclear how long he will be hospitalized.

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The trio recovering in San Antonio were among four officers who were wounded in a shootout in Laredo Friday that stemmed from a manhunt for a murder suspect.

Perez and Vela were taken to University Hospital and underwent surgery Saturday morning.

On Saturday, Laredo Police Chief Claudio Trevino Jr. said he hoped to have the officers back home soon and that his visits with the officers' doctors were "optimistic."

The three officers were taken to San Antonio for treatment after they were wounded Friday afternoon in a deadly shootout at a Laredo convenience store. The officers were attempting to apprehend a 55-year-old murder suspect, Antonio Gerardo Rodriguez.

"(It was) horrifying to get to the scene and witness one of our officers ... in the parking lot of a local business being attended by firefighters and later transported to the hospital,” Trevino said.

Investigators believe Rodriguez is responsible for killing his girlfriend, 50-year-old Reyna Gonzalez Zamora. Zamora's body was found at an apartment early Friday morning. That's when police sent out a public lookout notice for the suspect who was considered “armed and dangerous.”

Rodriguez did not go quietly. He exchanged gunfire with officers, hitting three of them. A fourth officer was injured due to glass shrapnel. 

The murder suspect was also shot. He died on the way to the hospital.

Each officer has between 9 and 26 years of experience. 

"The support we've been receiving here is tremendous from the community, from all the agencies — state, local, federal. It’s been tremendous. We’re thankful for that and we appreciate it. We just ask for the continued prayers for the families and the officers to recover,” Trevino said.

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