Albuquerque police have identified four of the six people who were killed since last Tuesday.
Gilbert Gallegos, an Albuquerque Police Department spokesman, said 28-year-old Erick Vargas was found shot to death in the 600 block of Grove SE, near Pennsylvania and Southern on Nov. 2.
Vargas’ death was the second of that day. Gallegos said the family of the first person — who was found fatally shot in the parking lot of a West Central strip mall — has not yet been notified of the death.
The following morning, around 1:40 a.m. on Nov. 3, Anastacio Amador was killed in the Barelas neighborhood. Gallegos said officers had been called for reports of a shooting and nearby residents had seen a man lying in the street. When officers arrived, they found 43-year-old Amador dead.
Early Sunday morning, a man was killed and another injured in a shooting on East Central near Pennsylvania. Gallegos said detectives have not yet notified the family of the man who was killed.
Later that day, 62-year-old Mohammad Ahmadi was found dead from a gunshot wound to the head on San Mateo NE, near Mountain, Sunday evening. Police had said around 6:45 p.m. officers had been called to the area after a witness heard gunshots and then saw a man face down on the ground. Ahmadi died at the scene.
Gallegos said Jeremy Matthew Garcia, 21, was killed at the Motel 6 on Avenida Cesar Chavez early Monday morning. Officers had been called to the motel — the site of two other homicides this year — around 5:20 a.m. for reports of yelling and a shooting. An APD spokesman said a dark-colored SUV, possibly a Nissan Pathfinder, had fled the scene. Garcia was taken to the hospital, where he died.
No arrests have been made in any of the cases and police have not released any information on suspects.
The recent spate of shootings means APD detectives have investigated 99 suspected homicides so far this year, not counting those determined to be justified. The New Mexico State Police has investigated three homicides within city limits, pushing the total number in the city to 102.
