Santa Fe events canceled Sunday after officer-involved shooting of vehicle-theft suspect

A Santa Fe man was arrested after a police-involved shooting caused a popular Santa Fe parade to be canceled on Sunday and people to lie on the floor while attending mass at Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi.

A New Mexico State Police social media post states the officers are OK, but Justin Jimenez, 21, a suspect in a vehicle theft, was wounded during an incident involving the Santa Fe Police Department and Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office Sunday morning.

It is unknown how many officers were involved.

State Police said criminal charges are pending from Santa Fe police detectives, and the investigation is in the early stages.

Sunday’s incident was the second officer-involved shooting in Santa Fe in less than a week. On Wednesday night, a police officer was involved in a shooting with a suspected suicidal man in the area of Cerrillos Road by a Denny’s restaurant. That case is also being investigated by State Police.

According to court records, Jimenez had pled guilty in July to attempting to commit burglary of a vehicle and larceny.

State Police spokesman Phil Vargas said at about 2 a.m. Sunday, Santa Fe dispatch received a call of a stolen Jeep Cherokee.

Vargas said Santa Fe police officers found the vehicle at a McDonald’s near Cerrillos and St. Francis. When they tried to conduct a traffic stop, the driver — later identified as Jimenez — fled.

Police said a Santa Fe County Sheriff’s deputy shortly later found the Jeep at Guadalupe Street and attempted another traffic stop. Once again, Jimenez fled, with officers refraining from pursuing due to the proximity of a nearby parade staging area. Vargas said reports came in soon after that described the vehicle as “driving recklessly” in the area.

Police said Jimenez plowed through barricades, hitting a portable toilet before officers attempted to make contact near Nusbaum Street, where a first officer-involved shooting occurred. At that point, Jimenez continued to flee, disregarding additional barricades near Palace Avenue and Nusbaum Street, where police again engaged the suspect.

Vargas said Jimenez continued to evade law enforcement, and two additional officer-involved shootings occurred at separate locations before he came to a stop near East Palace Avenue and Canyon Road where he was arrested and then taken to a local hospital with injuries deemed initially not to be life-threatening.

Santa Fe Deputy Chief Ben Valdez said Sunday morning’s incident caused the Fiesta’s de Santa Fe’s Desfile de La Gente and all of Sunday’s Santa Fe Plaza events to be canceled.

Vargas said State Police is asking for help with any video or footage of Sunday’s events. He said they should call 505-841-9256 and ask for Agent Victor Rodriguez. They could also submit evidence to https://publicsafetynm.evidence.com/axon/community-request/public/nmspr2412871.

The bad news from Sunday, said Santa Fe Mayor Alan Webber, is that one person “succeeded in shutting down our fiesta,” but at least everyone was going home safe except for the suspect.

“It is unfortunate this incident put an end to our beautiful and peaceful celebration, a celebration of multicultural communities,” Santa Fe City Councilor Lee Garcia said in an email. “I am grateful to (Santa Fe) Fiesta Council President Krystle Lucero for making the very difficult, but appropriate decision to cancel festivities. What is most important is the safety of our community.”

Santa Fe City Councilor Carol Romero-Wirth called the incident “saddening” and “scary.”

“I’m relieved to know the suspect is in custody,” she said. “We all seek more information about what happened and why.”

Sen. Joseph Cervantes, D-Las Cruces, told the Journal he was inside the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi when the shooting occurred.

He said there was suddenly a “great deal of commotion.” Some people were shouting there was a shooting as others got under pews. People were shaking, parents were sheltering their children and others were lying on the floor.

Mieke Rotsaert, owner of Art is Gallery Santa Fe, told the Journal shortly after the incident she tried to calm customers down by telling them that “we’ll all be OK.”

“It’s unfortunate that had to happen,” she said.

In a statement, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham thanked law enforcement for their “swift and effective response.”

“I condemn violence on the streets of Santa Fe, or anywhere else in our state or nation, in the strongest possible terms,” she said.

Webber said while the incident forced the parade and other events to be canceled, next year’s Fiesta de Santa Fe will be “even better.”