Police kill gunman

LAGUNA – A pursuit that began in Albuquerque with gunshots, ended in an officer killing a man just off I-40 at Laguna, 21 miles west of Grants.

The man’s name has not been released. I-40 was closed for hours as officials investigated the scene.

The incident began at approximately 1 p.m., KRQE News 13 reported, near Golf Course Road in Albuquerque. Police reported that two women had been shot at but the shots missed.

Albuquerque Police Department (APD) chased the man onto I-40 up to Rio Puerco where New Mexico State Police took over the pursuit, according to the News 13 online report.

The hot pursuit ended near mile marker 108 at Laguna Pueblo, where the driver attempted to pass a vehicle on the shoulder and hit a semi-truck, according to Cibola County Undersheriff Tony Mace. The Mustang stopped in the median lane with a dual-trailer FedEx truck jammed against its rear bumper.

The pursuit reached speeds up to 130 miles per hour, said one truck driver witness.

"I was running about 76, 77 mile an hour," truck driver Hollis Gifford told KRQE News 13. "So, he come around us, I'd say anywhere from 110-130."

After the crash, the suspect with a gun ran north across the BNSF Railway tracks into a field where he was ultimately shot by an officer.

“As I was driving up I heard a bang,” said Mace. The Cibola County Sheriff Department assisted the state police with securing the scene of the accident and with traffic control. Sheriff Johnny Valdez was on his way to Albuquerque for a doctor’s appointment and noticed the chase near nine-mile hill. “He immediately called me and suggested that we be on standby,” said Mace. “We had the exits secured near Grants shortly after dispatch notified us. We didn’t want the chase to lead into the town.”

Mace noted that a handgun was lying next to the suspect.

The crash and investigation shut down ten miles of westbound I-40 from about 2 p.m. until 7:30 p.m.

According to KRQE 13, a statement from APD said numerous people at Lovelace Westside Hospital witnessed the initial shooting, and that the woman was treated there for a broken ankle and cuts to her head.

It is not clear whether that woman was the target of the gunfire that started the incident.