Police shoot homicide suspect in SE ABQ
Aug. 20—ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Officers shot a homicide suspect when he allegedly used a rifle to try to carjack a man as he fled from police Friday afternoon on South Broadway.
No officers were injured, and the suspect was taken to the hospital with at least one gunshot wound. The man, in his mid-20s, was not identified and his condition was not released.
It was the third shooting involving Albuquerque police in the past six days, including an incident Thursday when a man from California shot at and injured four officers, one critically, before being shot himself.
Police Chief Harold Medina said that shooting spurred APD to focus on making arrests in several homicide cases with strong leads.
It led them, around 2:45 p.m., to the home of a man suspected in a homicide last month.
Medina said police planned to arrest the man on a parole violation and question him about the homicide. He said the man tried to flee in a vehicle by ramming police vehicles before getting out on foot with an assault-style rifle.
Medina said the man ran on to Broadway SE, near Kathryn, and tried to carjack someone with the rifle. As the man pointed his rifle at the driver, multiple officers opened fire.
"It is unknown how many officers fired at this time. We're still early in the investigation," Medina said.
He said the rifle the man used in the attempted carjacking is the one believed to have been used in the homicide.
Medina did not say which homicide the man is suspected in, and charges have not been filed in the case.
Aside from the homicide, he said the man is tied to multiple auto thefts and at least one bike-jacking in which he used a rifle.
"Thankfully today, no officers were injured," Medina said.
He added, "Our officers are committed to make this city safe. There's a lot of times people put narratives out that officers are afraid to do their job. Over the past six weeks it has shown that officers will step up to the challenge (and) they will take violent individuals who are driving crime in Albuquerque into custody."
