Albuquerque Police fatally shoot man seen hitting woman with hammer

An Albuquerque police officer fatally shot a man early Monday who was reportedly attacking a woman with a hammer.

Around 3 a.m., officers responded to Valle De Atrisco Apartments in the city’s far southwest side after receiving a call about a domestic dispute, but those in the apartment unit “refused to exit,” according to Police Chief Harold Medina.

“About 30 minutes after (police) started to negotiate with them, they could hear that the fighting had escalated, and it appeared the female was being abused, and that the female was under attack from the male,” Medina said at a briefing Monday morning. “Officers did force entry into an apartment.”

It was then, according to Medina, that officers saw the man “in the process of striking a female over the head with a hammer.”

“At this time, one officer did discharge their firearm, and the male is deceased on scene,” the police chief said. “The female was able to get out of the crease in the door and out to the officers, where they took her to get medical attention.”

The woman’s injuries were “non-life-threatening,” according to Gilbert Gallegos, spokesperson for APD and the mayor’s office. He added that one officer fired the fatal shot and fired more than one round — though Gallegos was unsure how many. That officer, per department protocol, has been placed on leave.

The shooting marks the 13th by the department this year, the same number as all of last year. It is also the ninth fatal shooting by an APD officer this year, one more than the department had in 2024.

APD has not yet released the identity of the deceased man. Medina said the area around the apartment unit where the shooting happened would remain closed for several hours.

The shooting happened next to Atrisco Heritage Academy High School, however, it did not have any impact on the school’s operations, said Albuquerque Public Schools spokesperson Martin Salazar.