Rio Rancho police describe last month’s shooting

Explanation of events reveals officers’ attempts to capture the suspect

Rio Rancho police officers shot and killed a man last month after he apparently tried to kidnap a random Walmart employee, but the woman was able to fight the man off.

On Tuesday, the police department released a chronological explanation of the events that ended when police officers Jacquelyn Reedy and Lawrence Samuel shot and killed Henry Rivera Sr., 71. The officers have completed their standard administrative leave and have returned to work.

Police said there is no video of the shooting.

Officers were first called to the Walmart on the 900 block of Unser on a reported shooting. Rivera had pulled a woman from her car at gunpoint and tried to force her into a silver Dodge Ram pickup that Rivera was driving. The woman fought Rivera off and gained control of the gun, which fired several times during the struggle, according to a news release from the police department.

Capt. Ron Vigil said the attempted kidnapping appears to have been random, but police are still investigating the case.

Rivera fled the area in a truck, which responding patrol officers saw and noted the license information. They stopped chasing the vehicle near 15th Street and Black Arroyo, and instead responded to the vehicle’s registered address in an Albuquerque neighborhood near Irving and Unser, according to the release.

Officers surrounded the home and tried to contain Rivera there, but about 20 minutes after police arrived, he drove from the home in a pickup, nearly striking officers and a woman. He sped through the neighborhood and turned into a cul-de-sac, where he struck a car being driven by a father; his two children were in the vehicle, said police.

After crashing the truck into a police car, the release says Rivera opened his door and pointed a gun at officers, who shot him. At some point during the shooting, Rivera dropped the shotgun and attempted to arm himself with a handgun, according to the release.

He was pronounced dead at the scene.