Albuquerque police release details in fatal shooting of man wielding hammer

A man who repeatedly called 911 to report a break-in was fatally shot by police after officers saw him hitting a woman with a hammer inside his apartment in Southwest Albuquerque.

The Albuquerque Police Department on Thursday shared lapel video and other evidence from the Sept. 29 shooting that left 42-year-old Brian Womack dead.

The shooting was the 13th by Albuquerque police this year. Eight of those have been fatal.

Officers responded around 2:45 a.m. to the Ceja Vista apartments at 10001 Ceja Vis SW, near 98th and Dennis Chavez, after Womack called and said a woman was trying to break into his apartment, according to Rob Drager, deputy commander for the Albuquerque Police Department.

“Ma’am, they trying to kill me,” Womack told a 911 dispatcher. “Please come over here, send the police over here.”

According to police, Womack had given the woman, who was a friend, a key to his apartment. In the 911 call, Womack told dispatchers he did not know how the woman got the key.

Shortly after, Womack called 911 again and said the woman was still trying to open the door. He told the 911 dispatcher that someone had taken a life insurance policy out on him and he was afraid for his life.

Womack gave the phone to a woman who was with him, and she told dispatchers she and Womack were in danger and the two had barricaded the door from the inside with a refrigerator.

“We’re scared for our lives right now because they just tried to open the door and come in here,” the woman told the dispatcher.

Officers arrived around 3 a.m., but Womack and the woman refused to open the door because the two did not believe they were law enforcement. After multiple failed attempts to talk to Womack and the woman, the officers left.

Ten minutes later, officers returned to the apartment and the woman told officers through the door that Womack was paranoid about someone trying to kill him. Drager said officers disengaged to prevent the situation from escalating.

Womack called APD dispatchers a third time and asked to speak to a supervisor because he did not believe the officers at the door were real officers.

“A supervisor got on the line with the woman inside the apartment and heard Womack screaming at the woman as she yelled to stop,” said Gilbert Gallegos, spokesperson for the Albuquerque Police Department.

Two of the officers returned to the apartment and heard yelling and screaming from inside. Officers kicked the door three times, but it only partially opened because the door had been blocked with furniture.

The woman could be heard from inside the apartment screaming and begging for help. Lapel footage showed Womack attempted to close the door with one hand while holding a hammer in the other.

“The officer later told investigators that he saw Womack strike the woman in the head with the hammer, and he was in the process of raising his arm back for another strike,” Gallegos said.

Officer Diego Tena, who has been with the department since 2023 and has no prior history of police shootings, fired six gunshots — striking Womack’s chest, back and arms. Womack was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police spoke with the woman, who said Womack had choked her and dragged her by her hair through the apartment. She told officers she believed Womack was going to kill her.

In the days leading up to the shooting, Womack had called 911 and told police he believed there were people in his walls, according to Gallegos. On Sept. 28, officers conducted a periodic watch at Womack’s apartment after he expressed concerns about people trying to get into his apartment.

Womack had 32 documented interactions with law enforcement since 2013, including domestic violence, disturbances and traffic stops, according to Drager.