MEXICO CITY – The Mexican navy said Friday that federal police opened fire on a U.S. Embassy vehicle carrying two U.S. government employees after the vehicle entered an area where the Mexican officers were conducting anti-crime operations.

The two U.S. Embassy employees were hospitalized, one with a wound to the leg and the other hit in the stomach and hand, according to a government official who spoke on condition of anonymity. The U.S. Embassy said it could not release details of the shooting or the names of the victims.

The navy said at least four vehicles opened fire on the Americans’ sport utility vehicle on a road south of Mexico City but did not make clear whether any of the four carried federal police officers.

The shootings appeared to have been the result of a confused running gunbattle that broke out on a rural road in a mountainous area that has been used by common criminals, drug gangs and leftist rebels in the past.

Hippo trapped in swimming pool dies

What started out as a day of hope for Solly the hippo turned to tragedy when rescuers were unable to save the 3-ton beast from the swimming pool he plunged into after being chased from his herd.

Solly’s plight captivated animal lovers, and his death Friday left many in tears, with some blaming a vet who arrived too late.

“It started out as a happy story and now it’s a tragic story. It’s devastating,” said Ruby Ferreira, manager of the game preserve lodge in South Africa where the hippopotamus had been stuck in the pool since Tuesday.

The 4-year-old hippo had been chased from his herd by dominant males when he wandered into the Monate Conservation Lodge and plopped into its 8-foot-deep pool. Although he could swim freely, he couldn’t get out because the pool has no steps.

Voice of Count on ‘Sesame Street’ dies

Jerry Nelson, the puppeteer behind a delightful menagerie of characters including Count von Count on “Sesame Street” and Gobo Fraggle on “Fraggle Rock,” has died. He was 78.

Nelson, who suffered from emphysema, died Thursday night in his Massachusetts home on Cape Cod, the Sesame Workshop said Friday.

In a tribute posted online by Sesame Workshop, Nelson was lauded for his artistry and the “laughter he brought to children worldwide” with the Count and other Muppet puppets including Sherlock Hemlock, Herry Monster and the Amazing Mumford.

Felon charged in officer’s slaying

Police charged a convicted felon Friday in the slaying of Philadelphia police officer Moses Walker Jr., who was robbed and killed on his way home from work, and they urged a suspected teenage accomplice to surrender.

Both men have prior arrest records, and the alleged shooter had served at least two years in prison on gun charges, court records show.

Rafael Jones, 23, was charged with murder, robbery and conspiracy and other counts.