Man found dead in crashed truck after police open fire in Northwest Albuquerque

Feb. 1—A man was found dead inside a crashed truck after officers fired at him at an apartment complex in Northwest Albuquerque on Thursday afternoon.

Albuquerque Police Chief Harold Medina said it is unclear if the officers' bullets struck the man or if he shot himself after trying to drive away.

He said at least two officers fired at the 40-year-old man after he pointed a gun at them. Medina did not identify the man, but said in October he had threatened "suicide by cop."

Medina said the man had an Extreme Risk Firearm Protection Order — also known as a red flag law — filed against him previously. The chief did not elaborate on the basis of that petition.

This was the second police shooting of the year.

Medina said around 2:30 p.m., a man called police, saying he was having a "mental health crisis" inside the Puerta del Sol Apartments parking lot in the 4800 block of McMahon NW, near Golf Course.

When officers arrived, the man was sitting inside a vehicle, Medina said. Officers tried talking to him for an hour when he got out of the vehicle and pointed a "long firearm" at "two or more" officers.

He said two officers fired at the man.

The man then got back inside the vehicle, went east in the apartment's parking lot, then rammed into a retaining wall just outside a Smith's grocery store, where he was found dead, Medina said.

At least two officers have been placed on administrative leave, Medina said.

Retired Bureau of Indian Affairs agent Lawrence Robertson said he was riding his bicycle on McMahon toward Golf Course when he saw at least a dozen police vehicles lined up between Smith's and Lovelace Westside Hospital around 4 p.m.

"This is the Smith's I go to," he said, adding that he has a friend who lives in the nearby Puerta del Sol Apartments. "It's scary."

Medina said police would continue to process the scene through the rest of the night.