PHOENIX (AP) — The man who fatally shot a suspect beating an Arizona state trooper said Tuesday that he doesn’t consider himself a hero and that he’s grappling with taking someone’s life.
Thomas Yoxall of Arizona gave his account of the dramatic Jan. 12 encounter between the now-dead suspect and the state trooper who had been shot. He had not been previously identified.
The 43-year-old cried and shook while recounting how he killed Leonard Pennelas-Escobar who was beating Trooper Edward Andersson “in a savage way.”
Department of Public Safety officials say Andersson was ambushed while putting out flares after coming across a roll-over crash on Interstate 10 outside of Phoenix and checking on a report of shots being fired at another vehicle.
Andersson is recovering.
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