Police fatally shoot man in NE Heights after domestic dispute, shots fired call

A man in his 30s was shot and killed by Albuquerque police on Saturday afternoon in the Northeast Heights after officers responded to a shots fired call and a domestic dispute.

Just before 2:30 p.m., officers were dispatched to a home on Menaul NE, west of Tramway, after Albuquerque Fire Rescue reported hearing gunshots.

“As our officers arrived to the scene, two females approached them. One of the females advised that she had heard shots fired in the area, and the other female advised that she was involved in a domestic incident with her boyfriend,” Cecily Barker, deputy chief of the Albuquerque Police Department field services bureau, said at a news conference Saturday.

Officers approached a man standing behind a vehicle who matched the description of the individual the female said she was in a domestic dispute with, according to Barker.

Barker said the man didn’t respond to officers’ commands to drop a firearm, leading to a non-lethal shot being fired by one officer before at least one round was fired by another, fatally striking the man.

“Detectives learned that the suspect fired at least one round from his handgun just prior to officers firing a less-lethal projectile and a lethal round that struck the suspect,” APD spokesperson Gilbert Gallegos said after the news conference.

The shooting marks the 11th by APD officers this year and the seventh fatal. In 2024, the department was involved in 13 shootings.

Under department policy, the officer who fired the fatal shots will be placed on administrative leave; however, it isn’t clear if the officer who fired the non-lethal round will be as well, with Barker stating that the decision will be made after investigators conduct their interviews.

The woman involved in the domestic dispute had “injuries to her wrist,” according to Barker.

Baker could not answer whether the woman confirmed the deceased man was the person she was in a domestic dispute with. “That’s still being investigated,” she said.

No officers were injured in the shooting.