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Authorities have arrested a man who they say was wounded in an exchange of gunfire with Rio Rancho police at a Walmart on Saturday morning.
The officers were not injured.
The shooter had fled in a stolen vehicle after the gunfire exchange, and the Rio Rancho Police Department said he and two others were detained several hours later in Albuquerque.
Officers recovered an additional stolen vehicle when they detained the suspects near Osuna and Interstate 25, said Lt. Jacquelynn Reedy, a Rio Rancho police spokeswoman in an email.
The shooting took place around 6:30 a.m. when officers went to investigate a suspicious vehicle parked in a handicapped spot in the Walmart parking lot at 901 Unser SE, by Southern, police said. As they approached the vehicle a man exited Walmart and ran toward the officers.
“Officers tried to detain the male, at which time the male suspect reached between the seats for a handgun, and shot at officers at near point-blank range,” Reedy said. “Officers took cover and exchanged gunfire with the male.”
The vehicle, described earlier as a 2019 blue Honda Civic, headed south on Unser, before being found in Albuquerque.
Police did not immediately release the names of the people taken into custody.
Reedy added that the investigation is ongoing and anyone with information about the incident can contact Detective Ben Parker at bparker@rrnm.gov.
