NMSP officer shoots at man in Española

Jun. 15—ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A New Mexico State Police officer shot at a man who they say pointed a firearm at officers in Española on Monday.

Jerome Naranjo, 37, fled the scene and has not been found.

Officer Ray Wilson, a NMSP spokesman, said investigators don't believe he was injured but they won't know until they find him.

Wilson said the incident occurred when State Police officers and Española Police Department officers were attempting to arrest Naranjo in connection with a stabbing. They found him at a house in a vehicle that was being driven by a woman.

"The driver attempted to flee by ramming the suspect vehicle into an EPD officer's patrol unit," Wilson wrote in a news release. "The State Police officer broke the vehicles side window and attempted to use his Taser to stop the driver and take Naranjo into custody."

He said the Taser was unsuccessful and the vehicle fled until around the house until "an EPD unit rammed the suspect vehicle, pinning it against a tree and debris."

"Naranjo exited the vehicle and fled on foot," Wilson wrote. "At this point in the encounter, Naranjo pointed a firearm at the State Police officer and the officer fired one or more shots at Naranjo."

The officer who fired at Naranjo has been put on standard administrative leave. Wilson did not identify him.

It is the second shooting by police in Española in a week. On June 8, two Española Police Department officers fatally shot a man who they said was dragging one of the officers with his vehicle.