An off-duty Puerto Rico police officer was shot and killed Tuesday night in what news agencies are calling an ambush that might be related to his work as a narcotics agent.
According to the local newspaper Primera Hora, Victor Soto-Velez, 37, a 13-year veteran of the Puerto Rico Police Department was in his private Ford Explorer vehicle in Camuy when he was ambushed. The news account said Soto-Velez provided information about his assailants before he died from gunshots received during the shooting.
As police investigated the shooting, they came upon a burning vehicle that fit the description offered by the dying officer.
According to local police, almost immediately after the shooting, they began receiving information that the attack was directed at Soto-Velez who had been an agent of the Division of Drugs in Arecibo, according to Primera Hora.
More than 15 shell casings of various calibers were found in the burned out vehicle which indicated more than one person was involved with the shooting. The suspects remain at large.
Soto-Velez was survived by two daughters, ages 10 and 19.
