Pat Dollard

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Arizona Republic:

Seventeen people were detained overnight in the search for suspects in Friday¹s shooting of Pinal County Sheriff¹s Deputy Louis Puroll by suspected drug smugglers in an isolated area of south-central Arizona.

Pinal County Lt. Tami Villar says 14 of those detained are suspected of being illegal immigrants, while three match the description of the shooters given by Puroll.

The 14 suspected illegal immigrants are being held by Border Patrol, while the three suspects are being questioned by the Pinal Sheriff’s Office.

The Sheriff’s Office is also conducting an internal investigation into the shooting, standard policy whenever a shooting involving an officer takes place.

Villar added that evidence recovered from the scene is only now being processed, but would not comment on if weapons had been found.

Puroll, who had been shot with an AK-47-type weapon around 4 p.m., according to the Sheriff’s Office, has declined requests to be interviewed.

The rugged desert area where the shooting took place, near the junction of Interstate 8 and Arizona 84 in south-central Arizona, is considered a high-traffic drug- and human-smuggling corridor.

A massive hunt of 100 square miles that included helicopters with night-vision equipment and more than 200 officers, including SWAT teams, from 13 agencies was still pursuing the shooters late Friday.

More than one helicopter came under fire during the evening as officers rescued Puroll, who had been shot with an AK-47-type weapon around 4 p.m., according to the Sheriff’s Office.

Puroll suffered a flesh wound above his kidney that tore off a chunk of skin. He was treated at Casa Grande Regional Medical Center and released Friday night.

“Here we see the tactics have changed and become more dangerous,” Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu said. “This has reached a critical mass for law enforcement.”

Babeu said he has “called out for help” from federal officials to no avail. He said smugglers know “the police are after them and the fact they are firing upon us changes the game.”

Gov. Jan Brewer also weighed in, saying in a Twitter message sent out Friday evening: “Our thoughts & prayers go out to the Pinal County Deputy shot during a stop. Contrary to what some leaders say, our borders are not secure.”

Brewer could not be reached to discuss it further.

The shooting occurred exactly one week after the governor signed the toughest anti-illegal-immigration law in the country, triggering a firestorm of state and national controversy. The legislation has been hotly debated, and it has put Arizona in the spotlight over how border states deal with rampant illegal immigration.

The legislation has sparked protests and calls to boycott the Grand Canyon State from opponents, while supporters argue it should be emulated nationwide. Babeu, a frequent critic of federal immigration policy, is a strong supporter of the law.

Babeu was joined by Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, another supporter of the law, at a command-post news conference late Friday at an I-8 truck stop.

Arpaio said that, in 90 days, when Arizona’s new law takes effect, he will be enforcing it “100 percent,” and he worries that violence common with drug cartels in Mexico will come to the U.S.

“I think this is one incident that proves that it’s going to happen in the future,” Arpaio said. “I predict it’s going to get worse because of the chaos at the U.S.-Mexico border.”

Villar said Friday’s incident “sends a very powerful and loud message that we have a problem.”

She added that the shooters are Hispanic men who “appear to be undocumented.”

Villar said Puroll, 53, was attacked about 5 miles south of I-8. She said the veteran deputy is assigned to patrol the area known for drug smuggling.

Babeu said Puroll was tracking the smugglers, who left behind large quantities of marijuana.

Babeu said up to 30 rounds were fired at the deputy, who returned fire with an AR-15 semiautomatic rifle and a handgun.

Villar said the attackers were armed with long guns and at least one handgun. She said gunfire aimed at the helicopters came about an hour after the initial incident. An unknown amount of marijuana apparently handled by the shooters remained in the desert.

The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office dispatched a helicopter and members of its SWAT team to Pinal County to assist in the case, said sheriff’s Lt. Brian Lee. The Arizona Department of Public Safety also sent two helicopters and a SWAT team.

About 70 Maricopa County sheriff’s employees also responded to the scene. Lee said most had been involved in a crime-suppression sweep in west Phoenix earlier in the day.

The Border Patrol also sent agents to help with the investigation, said Mario Escalante, a patrol spokesman. The nearest Border Patrol station in the area is in Casa Grande.

Republic reporters Craig Harris, Allison Hurtado, JJ Hensley, Megan Boehnke and Daniel Gonzalez contributed to this article.