Woman shot, killed in vacant ABQ lot

Incident marks the 38th reported homicide in the city this year

Homicide detectives are investigating after they say a woman was killed and a man injured in a shooting in a vacant lot in a northwest Albuquerque neighborhood late Monday night.

Officer Simon Drobik, a spokesman for the Albuquerque Police Department, did not identify the people shot or say what led to the shooting, but neighbors said the woman who was killed lived across the street from the lot. People gathering at her home Tuesday late morning declined to talk with the Journal.

Drobik said that around 11:45 p.m. officers were called to Woodland and Sioux NW, near 12th and Menaul, for reports of a shooting.

When they got there, he said, they found a man and a woman who were injured. They were taken to a hospital, where the woman was pronounced dead, he said. He said no suspects have been identified. Drobik did not say what relationship the victims had to one another.

By Tuesday morning, investigators had cleared out, but yellow crime scene tape could be seen strung up around a fenced-in dirt lot. A small pile of clothes and blankets lay to one side.

Michael Pacheco, 19, who lives in the neighborhood, said he was outside working on his bike around midnight when he heard gunshots coming from the lot. He said he ducked and turned off his headlamp in order to hide.

“My mom came out after that first shot went off,” he said. “People started screaming, then a couple minutes later, another seven went off right away. That’s when I knew for sure it wasn’t fireworks.”

Pacheco said he and his mother ran inside their house and called 911. He said that about five minutes later, police arrived and the two were taken away in ambulances. Pacheco said a few hours later detectives told him his neighbor of more than 15 years had been shot and killed.

“She’s lived here longer then we had,” Pacheco said. “When this incident was going on, we were wondering where she was at, her dog was running around, so we put the dog back inside.”

The investigation marks the 38th reported homicide in the city since the beginning of the year. Police have also reported five homicides they are considering self-defense.