Police identify man who was shot and injured near Route 66 Casino Hotel

Albuquerque police identified the man who was “critically injured” by officers Monday morning.

Claude Laska, 32, was shot around 4 a.m. on Interstate 40, west of the Rio Puerco, just north of the Route 66 Casino Hotel, Albuquerque Police Department spokesperson Gilbert Gallegos said in a news release.

The shooting was the 14th time APD has shot at someone this year. Ten of those shootings have been fatal.

Police were tracking Laska through the night after he allegedly shot a man at an apartment complex in southwest Albuquerque, Gallegos said.

“Detectives covertly surveilled Laska through the night and attempted to take him into custody, but those attempts were unsuccessful,” Gallegos said.

Around 4 a.m., detectives saw Laska driving a sedan eastbound on Interstate 40 toward Albuquerque and learned he had pulled the vehicle to the side of the highway after he ran out of gas.

Gallegos said officers heard gunshots coming from the direction of the car as they approached it and one officer returned fire and injured Laska. He was taken to a local hospital and is reportedly in stable condition.

APD detectives had been searching for Laska since Oct. 9 because he had “multiple violent felonies related to domestic violence incidents,” Gallegos said.

“Laska left the state at one point and fled from police in Las Vegas, Nevada, who attempted a traffic stop based on his warrant in Albuquerque,” Gallegos said.

Sunday evening, police were called to the Crescent Ridge apartment complex, located at 8200 Bridge SW, near Unser, in response to a domestic dispute, according to a criminal complaint filed in Metropolitan Court.

The caller told police Laska had given his girlfriend an unknown substance that caused her to overdose, the complaint states. Laska was not present at the time.

Shortly after, police returned to the Crescent Ridge apartments after receiving a call that Laska had allegedly shot a man in the parking lot, according to the complaint.

Witnesses told police Laska pointed a gun at his girlfriend and told her to “Get in the (expletive) car,” before he drove away, the complaint states.

“The woman later told detectives that Laska allegedly pistol-whipped her while she was with him,” Gallegos said.