Authorities said Officers Mendez and Raul Ortiz had just arrived at work around 11 p.m. last Thursday when they heard breaking glass and saw several people breaking into a car in the parking lot at Philadelphia International Airport.
RELATED | Funeral arrangements announced for fallen Philadelphia Police Officer Richard Mendez
Funeral arrangements announced for fallen Philadelphia Police Officer Richard Mendez
A confrontation ensued, and the two officers and one of the suspects were shot.
Officer Mendez, 50, was shot four times and pronounced dead at a hospital.
Ortiz, a 60-year-old who is a 20-year veteran of the force, was shot once in the arm and was released from the hospital two days later.
Three people have been arrested in connection with the shooting, including 18-year-old Yobranny Martinez Fernandez, 21-year-old Alexander Batista-Polanco, and 21-year-old Hendrick Pena-Fernandez.
Since there were no cameras in the airport parking lot, police say they relied heavily on cell phone records to track the suspects.
Detectives also interviewed the family of the suspect who died last Thursday night after being dropped off at CHOP with gunshot wounds.
Through the family, police were able to identify several phone numbers that led to the three suspects.
Authorities then found cell phone signals near CHOP and in South Brunswick, New Jersey, where the suspects' getaway SUV was burned down.
All three suspects are charged with the murder of Officer Mendez.