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The incident started when a woman waved down an officer Thursday to say her 33-year-old son shot at her car with a handgun, police said.

Espericueta responded and tried to make contact with the suspect, who then ran away from him, police said.

As the suspect ran, he turned around and began firing, police said, and he exchanged gunfire with Espericueta and other officers.

\"PHOTO:
KRGV
PHOTO: A police officer died June 20, 2019 after being shot in the line of duty in Mission, Texas.
>
\"PHOTO:
KRGV
PHOTO: A police officer died June 20, 2019 after being shot in the line of duty in Mission, Texas.
>

Espericueta was struck multiple times, police said.

The suspect is in custody, according to ABC affiliate KRGV in Weslaco, Texas.

\"PHOTO:
KRGV
PHOTO: A Mission, Texas, police officer was shot and killed in the line of duty on Thursday, June 20, 2019.
>

\"We're devastated,\" the City of Mission wrote on Twitter late Thursday night. \"He gave his life protecting us. There are no words to explain how heartbroken we are as a community.\"

We thank the community and the entire nation for the overwhelming outpouring of support for the family, friends, and brothers/sisters in blue of our fallen Cpl. Joey “Speedy” Espericueta. Thank you for standing beside us during this senseless tragedy. #MissionMourns #BackTheBlue pic.twitter.com/sr6pktL2EZ

— City of Mission, TX (@CityOfMissionTX) June 21, 2019
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