Las Cruces police offer details about suspect shot during chase

LAS CRUCES — A 19-year-old man shot by a Las Cruces police officer on March 13 remains in a hospital one week later, last reported in stable condition. He faces charges of aggravated assault on a peace officer, negligent use of a deadly weapon and resisting, evading or obstructing an officer.

At a news conference Thursday, Las Cruces Police Chief Jeremy Story presented a timeline and video footage of events leading to the shooting of Gabriel Padilla, beginning with a 911 call from a security guard at a pizza shop on S. Main Street downtown. At 6:53 p.m., the caller reported a young man, identified later as Padilla, running toward the street holding a handgun. The shop sits in a large plaza surrounded by office buildings and businesses near a busy downtown intersection.

Security footage from neighboring cameras showed the man wandering around parking areas and buildings holding what appeared to be a handgun, at times interacting with another man in an orange shirt.

The security guard told dispatch he observed Padilla point the gun and that he had fired it twice. In one piece of footage, a puff of dust or debris is shown a short distance from Padilla near a spot where Story said police recovered a .45 casing.

Body-camera footage shows a lone LCPD officer, who has not been identified, arriving at a parking lot one block south of the pizza shop and calling out to Padilla, who proceeds to flee by the side of a nearby motel southwest toward S. Main Street. The officer commands Padilla to stop and yells, “Stop reaching!” three times as the foot chase continues along the sidewalk, against the direction of traffic, while no pedestrians appear to be in view.

After the third command, five gunshots are heard and Padilla is seen falling to the sidewalk with the firearm in his hand before dropping it and lying with his hands over his stomach. Approximately 16 seconds pass from the beginning of the chase to when Padilla falls, having been shot with one round in his lower back over the right buttock, according to police.

No criminal complaint against Padilla appeared in court filings available Thursday afternoon, and Story said the criminal investigation was still in process.

Padilla does not appear to have a criminal record in New Mexico, but Story told reporters Padilla had had previous encounters with law enforcement agencies and that his behavior had “escalated” recently, including “potential firearms use, saying he wanted to have gang affiliation, things like that.”

Information about the firearm was limited, but Story indicated it had not been reported stolen. While Padilla could lawfully possess the firearm, Story said video footage showed that he had the gun concealed at times and did not appear to have a concealed carry license.

Story said the officer had been placed on standard paid leave while the shooting is under investigation.