Albuquerque police say suspect didn't fire gun, officers' bullets killed K-9 in shooting near Sunport

Albuquerque police say the man killed by officers did not fire his gun during a confrontation outside a hotel near the airport last week.

Two officers fired their guns in the incident, killing Jorge Dominguez — who was armed with a loaded gun — and Rebel, a police K-9 shot in the face as he latched onto the suspect.

Rebel is the most recent unintended casualty in an APD shooting over the past few years. In October and November 2024, in separate shootings, an officer was shot in the arm and three bystanders were shot by police gunfire. In June 2023, two bystanders were shot by police when they opened fire on a man at a bus stop.

Dominguez’s death marked the sixth shooting involving APD officers this year. Five of those have been fatal.

Officers had tracked Dominguez, 39, to the Comfort Suites on May 29, after he evaded a SWAT standoff in an East Central neighborhood, according to a news release and court records.

In an armed confrontation outside the hotel, SWAT officers sent Rebel after Dominguez, said Albuquerque Police Department spokesperson Gilbert Gallegos. Rebel bit Dominguez, and after noticing that he was armed, police opened fire.

When asked if the gun was in the man’s hand when police fired, Gallegos declined to answer, stating, “We will discuss details from the investigation when we have a news conference in two weeks.”

After the standoff, police attempted life-saving aid on Dominguez, but he was pronounced dead on the scene, Gallegos said. Rebel was transported to a veterinary hospital, where he died.

Rebel was the first K-9 killed in the line of duty in the unit’s history. On Thursday, the city and APD announced fundraising efforts with Sandia Peak Tramway “in honor of our fallen K9 Rebel,” but would not disclose how the funds would be used until the Friday news conference at the tram.

In an online obituary, Dominguez’s family described him as a man who loved “jamming to corridos with his kids, riding ATVs, dressing up vaquero for every occasion, and he loved the color red.”

Dominguez had two warrants out for his arrest when he was killed, one from a February DWI arrest and another for auto theft and resisting, evading or obstructing an officer from an incident earlier that week.

Dominguez had several other arrests going back a decade and was on parole after serving time for a road rage shooting, according to court records.