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Taos County sheriff investigating homicide on Blue Bus in Ranchos de Taos
Taos County Sheriff Steve Miera told the Journal that his office began investigating a fatal shooting that took place on a North Central Regional Transit District Blue Bus near the Ranchos de Taos Post Office late Monday morning.
Deputies responded to a call of shots fired at the intersection of State Road 68 and Saint Francis Road, a block from the historic San Francisco de Asís Mission Church, discovering a male on the bus who had suffered “several gunshot wounds.”
The victim, identified as 40-year-old Taos resident Leroy Rodriguez, was transported to Holy Cross Medical Center, where he later died of his injuries. According to a hospital spokesperson, the facility was placed on a brief lockdown early Monday afternoon.
The NCRTD issued a press release Monday afternoon stating that the sheriff’s office learned that “two individuals fired handguns through the window of an NCRTD bus while it was stopped at the Ranchos de Taos Post Office bus stop. One passenger was fatally wounded.”
Neither the bus driver nor the two other passengers on the bus were injured during the incident, the release added. “Our hearts go out to the victim’s family and to all those affected by this senseless act of violence …”
Sheriff’s deputies worked alongside Taos Police Department and New Mexico State Police to identify and seize a suspect vehicle, but no arrests had been made as of Monday evening. The investigation remains ongoing.
Anyone with information about the fatal shoot is asked to contact the sheriff’s office at 575-758-2217.
