"A police officer shot and injured a man who threw 'large rocks' at him during a foot pursuit early Wednesday morning in Northeast Albuquerque. Rebecca Atkins, an Albuquerque Police Department spokeswoman, said 47-year-old Gabriel Garcia was treated for a gunshot wound and has been booked into the Metropolitan Detention Center." —Matthew Reisen
Apparently, the suspect attempted to injure the officer by throwing large rocks at him.
"Atkins said 'the officer and (Garcia) were engaged in a confrontation and the subject attempted to injure the officer while throwing large rocks at him.' It is unclear how large the rocks were but Atkins said they were described to her as 'boulders.' She said the officer was not struck by the rocks and no other weapons were recovered. Atkins said the incident began sometime around 3 a.m. when police spotted Garcia breaking into a DK gas station at Candelaria and Carlisle and chased him a few blocks away — where shots were fired in front of a children’s school." —Matthew Reisen
According to Atkins, Garcia has been charged with aggravated assault: police spotted a possible break-in.
"On Aug. 12, according to police, Garcia hit the cashier of the DK gas station with a metal bar after he was banned from the store for stealing liquor. A judge granted a motion to keep Garcia behind bars until trial but the case was dismissed and he was released from MDC on Aug. 29 when the cashier didn’t show up to a hearing. Wednesday’s incident began when police spotted a possible break-in at the same DK gas station. Medina said that, sometime before 4:30 a.m., a sergeant saw a man 'who appeared to be tampering and possibly trying to break into' the convenience store near Candelaria and Carlisle NE. He said the man ran away as police tried to determine whether he had actually broken into the location. Medina said a foot chase ensued." —Matthew Reisen
There is a possibility that the shooting was not captured on camera.
"Atkins said Garcia is charged with aggravated assault on a police officer, breaking and entering, possession of burglary tools, criminal damage to private property and resisting, evading or obstructing an officer. As of Wednesday evening, charging documents could not be found in online court records and Garcia was not on the MDC booking list. She said the lapel camera of the officer who fired fell off during the chase and he 'quickly retrieved it and placed it back on his uniform to continue the foot pursuit.' Atkins said the shooting happened after the officer put the camera back on. Hours earlier, APD Chief Harold Medina said there was a possibility the dislodged lapel camera hadn’t captured the shooting." —Matthew Reisen
This is the second time law enforcement shot someone in less than 24 hours.
"The incident marked the second time law enforcement shot someone in the city in less than 24 hours. Bernalillo County deputies shot and killed a man following a vehicle pursuit Tuesday afternoon in the South Valley. Wednesday’s shooting was the 13th time Albuquerque police have shot at someone this year; seven of those were fatal. There were 10 Albuquerque police shootings in all of 2021, four of which were fatal." —Matthew Reisen
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