Albuquerque station KOAT lead their newscast with the story that cops had busted tow punks that they believe are responsible for shooting up the station's news chopper and Sat track.

Cops clamped the cuffs on Joshua Sullivan, 23, and Robert Rand, 24 and they say the two men who plotted and executed a plan to shoot up Sky 7 last week.

The shooting left the  news helicopter crippled.

"Watching Sky 7 get loaded onto a flatbed truck, so that it could be taken away to be repaired was like watching a friend being loaded up into an ambulance," KOAT-TV President and General Manager Mary Lynn Roper said.

The whole thing started last Thursday afternoon, when a KOAT live truck was shot at a park. A station photographer was able to get video of the suspect's car, which was also spotted near the station right after the chopper was shot.

Over the weekend, an officer followed a shoplifting suspect, Sullivan, in the same vehicle and located shotgun shells in the car. The shells matched those found at the KOAT scene. Police connected it all together and were able to arrest both men.

The criminal complaint said the suspects admitted to both shootings.

The men admitted to both shootings, according to the criminal complaint.

"I just really want to thank APD for their great job. They solved this crime very quickly," Roper said.

Roper said everyone played a role in righting this wrong.

H/T KOAT