Man charged in shooting death of man in Circle K parking lot in SW Albuquerque

Police say a 61-year-old man had been speaking with a crowd outside a Circle K for 20 seconds before one of them pulled a gun.

The shooter fired twice, killing the man, before the group scattered from the gas station on Sunday night in the Barelas area of Albuquerque.

On Tuesday, officers arrested the alleged shooter, Paul Ortiz, 29, on an open count of murder in the death of Christopher Archibeque.

Ortiz is being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center. It is unknown if he has an attorney.

It is unclear what the motive was in the shooting.

Albuquerque Police Department spokesperson Gilbert Gallegos said Ortiz was arrested less than a mile from the gas station. Ortiz has an initial court appearance scheduled for Wednesday.

At about 8 p.m. Sunday, APD officers responded to a call of a shooting at Circle K in the 500 block of Avenida Dolores Huerta SW, near 8th.

According to a criminal complaint filed at Metropolitan Court, police were able to identify Ortiz through security video that captured the shooting.

The complaint states when officers arrived, they saw people attempting CPR on Archibeque, who had a gunshot wound to the chest and a small handgun next to him.

Police said a witness told them they heard two gunshots before seeing a man, later identified as Ortiz, reach into his waistband and try to “hide/clean a gun” and then run away.

According to the complaint, police said they were able to use security video to “track” Ortiz’s movements “leading up to the shooting to positively identify him as the shooter.”

Police said the video showed Archibeque approach a group of people, including Ortiz. After talking to Ortiz for about “15-20 seconds,” according to police, video showed Ortiz “reached for what appeared to be a handgun” and fired two shots at Archibeque before fleeing with the group.

The complaint states that Ortiz denied shooting Archibeque but identified himself as the man who fired a weapon in a photo from the surveillance footage.

Police said Ortiz told them he had taken drugs that day and did not remember going to the gas station but said “maybe he stopped by for some cigarettes.”