Shooting suspect dead after standoff with SWAT officers
Spokeswoman says police did not fire their weapons as man hid in trailer
A shooting suspect was found dead in a trailer behind a Northwest Albuquerque home after a SWAT standoff between the man and Albuquerque police officers Wednesday.
Police spokeswoman Celina Espinoza said officers did not fire their weapons during the SWAT situation and are not responsible for the man’s death. But she said she couldn’t elaborate on what investigators believe he died of.
“It does not appear at this point in the investigation that ... officers’ actions caused his death,” she said.
A multi-jurisdictional team is investigating, she said.
“It’s simply to add a level of transparency and ensure the thoroughness of the investigation,” Espinoza said.
A woman called police around 3:30 a.m. to say another woman had been shot nearby. The victim was rushed to a local hospital and was in critical but stable condition later Wednesday, Espinoza said. She wasn’t identified.
The victim described to officers the man who shot her. But when officers tried to arrest him, Espinoza said he refused to come out of a trailer that was behind a home in the 100 block of Tyrone NW near Griegos and Second Street.
The SWAT team was called around 6:30 a.m. and officers believed the suspect was alive then because an officer saw a shadow moving in the trailer.
Second Street was closed for most of the day while SWAT officers tried to negotiate with the suspect. They eventually used flash bangs and gas before forcing their way in around noon and finding the man’s body.
Espinoza did not release his name.