New Mexico State Police officer killed outside Tucumcari

A search for the suspect who shot and killed a New Mexico State Police officer Friday morning apparently continued into the evening.

The officer, identified by the Governor’s Office as 35-year-old Justin Hare, was shot on Interstate 40 near mile marker 320, west of Tucumcari in Quay County, State Police reported on its X account.

The suspect was last seen wearing a brown hoodie and jacket on the I-40 frontage road at milepost 304, which is between Montoya and Newkirk.

The agency added “the suspect is armed and dangerous, do not approach, call 911 immediately.”

Later Friday morning, State Police released a photo of the suspect, which shows him running around a vehicle apparently holding something in his hand.

A spokesperson for the New Mexico Department of Transportation said the westbound right lane of I-40 was closed at milepost 318 Friday morning. The shoulder was closed at the 305 westbound mile marker.

According to the Quay County Sun, the Tucumcari Police Chief said the shooting occurred around 5:30 a.m.

State Police declined to answer questions about the search on Friday, and had released no update on the incident as of 9:30 p.m.

News of 35-year-old Hare’s death was met with an outpouring of condolences on social media and elsewhere.

James Goen of Jack’s Truck Repair in Tucumcari told the Journal he’d worked car crashes with Hare for years and described him as a “top notch” police officer and a good friend, adding he often worked with children in local schools.

“Justin was a great person,” Goen said. “Didn’t matter if he worked … all night long — if you called him, he answered his phone.”

In a post on Facebook, the Logan Ambulance Service said Hare was a father and a husband.

At the start of an unrelated Friday news conference, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham spoke briefly about the officer’s death. She said the suspect was still at large and there were “other injuries” sustained in efforts to apprehend the suspect.

“This has to be an incredibly painful and horrific time for family and friends,” Lujan Grisham said.

State Public Safety Secretary Jason Bowie called the incident “shocking news to everyone who knew and worked with Officer Hare.”

“My heart is with his family, colleagues, and friends,” Bowie said in a prepared statement. “We all owe a great debt to the men and women of law enforcement, who daily put their lives on the line to protect the lives, property and rights of New Mexicans, visitors and those passing through our great state.

“Officer Hare will never be forgotten, and his sacrifice safeguarding our state is worthy of the highest honors.”

Other law enforcement officials and agencies offered condolences to the department, friends and loved ones of the fallen officer.

Albuquerque Police Chief Harold Medina posted on X he was “heartbroken” to hear the news and offered his prayers.

The Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office posted its “deepest sympathies” to NMSP.

“To the men and women of the New Mexico State Police: we stand beside you in these dark times,” the agency posted on X.

This is the first NMSP death since 2021, when patrolman Darian Jarrott was shot and killed by a drug trafficker during a traffic stop off Interstate 10 near Deming.

Journal staff writer Megan Gleason contributed to this report.