Police identify man killed in overnight shooting in NE Albuquerque

Albuquerque police said a man was fatally shot overnight near Central and Jefferson NE.

The Albuquerque Police Department said officers responded to the scene around 1 a.m. Saturday to reports that a man had been shot. He was “determined to be deceased.” Homicide detectives are actively investigating, a spokesperson said.

An APD spokesperson said a suspect is not in custody and that the individual who died was identified by detectives as Gregory Antone, 28.

In a social media post shortly after APD announced it was investigating the incident, Quirky Books confirmed a deadly shooting had taken place outside its business — just over a week after city officials had asked a judge to declare the bookstore a “public nuisance” because of health concerns and alleged illicit drug use by homeless people staying in its parking lot.

In the post, Quirky Books, which is located at 120 Jefferson NE, said security camera footage appears to show the incident was “the result of a dispute between two individuals.”

“Around 12:30 a.m., a pick-up truck pulled over and parked on the street, just outside of our parking lot. An argument ensued between the driver of the pick-up and another man along the sidewalk. The second man appears to have started backing away, but then pulled a gun and fired at least two shots,” the social media post read.

“We are cooperating with the investigation and have made our security camera footage available. ... None of the unhoused neighbors whom we allow to camp at the back of our parking lot were involved in this incident.”

Quirky Books has long drawn complaints from nearby businesses and city officials over what they describe as deteriorating conditions at the bookstore, which has provided shelter for unhoused individuals.

The city filed a civil complaint against Jefferson Central LLC and Gillam Kerley, the Quirky Books owner, in 2nd Judicial District Court on Nov. 5, with nearby businesses alleging that the people staying in the encampment have set fires and publicly urinated and defecated on their properties.

If the court grants the city’s public nuisance request, city Code Enforcement would be allowed to enter the private property and evict the people living there. The city also asked Judge Daniel Ramczyk to grant the city permission to petition a judge to sell the property to a new owner if the property remains a public nuisance.