A Navajo Nation official has confirmed three Shiprock officers were involved in Thursday night's fatal shooting near Red Valley, Ariz., that left one officer and the suspect dead.
The three officers were Herbert Frazier, James Hale and Alex Yazzie, all with the Shiprock district of the Navajo Nation Police Department, said Deswood Tome, chief of staff for the Office of the President and Vice President.
Yazzie was shot and killed in a shootout with the suspect near the state line.
Frazier was shot in the shin and is being treated at the Northern Navajo Medical Center in Shiprock.
Hale was shot in the right leg and was airlifted to the University of New Mexico Hospital in Albuquerque.
The suspect in the shooting, Justin Fowler, was killed in the shootout, police have said.
At the family's home in Little Water, the suspect's mother, Cecelia Begay, spoke briefly to The Daily Times on Friday.
"We're sorry for the loss of their loved one. That's all I want to say," she said.
She added the 26-year-old leaves behind two young children and a wife.
Fowler's aunt, Louise Duncan, described her nephew as an outgoing individual who was friendly and helpful.
"It's a shock to find out about what's transpired," she said. "It feels so unreal."
Copyright 2015 - The Daily Times, Farmington, N.M.
Tribune News Service
