Man who shot at officers is charged

No one was hurt in exchange of fire

Moses Hernandez, 36, shot at officers responding to a shooting call near East Central last week, prompting them to return fire, according to a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court.

Neither Hernandez nor any of the officers was hit in the gunfight, according to the complaint. Hernandez was arrested and is being federally charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm.

On Jan. 26, officers with the Albuquerque Police Department went to the neighborhood near Rhode Island and Chico NE after a caller reported hearing shots fired and seeing a man fall to the ground. The caller said the suspect ran away with a gun in his hand.

When the officers arrived in the area around 5:30 p.m., they saw a man matching the description given by the caller and ordered him to show his hands, according to the complaint. Then, officers said, he pointed a gun at them.

An officer later told investigators that he “saw muzzle flash from a discharged firearm and felt projectiles ‘whiz’ by his body.”

Three officers returned fire, but did not hit the suspect, later identified as Hernandez. Hernandez was found with a gun under his body and taken to the hospital with minor injuries.

Officers found the other man with a gunshot wound to his leg nearby and took him to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Fred Duran, an APD spokesman, said that man had been shot in an earlier argument. He did not identify him.

Hernandez was taken into federal custody after investigators determined he had prior felony convictions for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and possession of a controlled substance.

This is the second time APD officers have opened fire this year.

On Jan. 7, three officers shot and killed Gilbert Lovato, 38, who they said was an armed robber who threatened officers with what turned out to be a BB gun.