Man shot in head while driving

Police seeking shooter in apparent road rage incident

A Los Alamos National Laboratory scientist is recovering from surgery after being shot in the head in a reported road rage incident on N.M. 502, the victim’s father said Monday.

No arrest in the incident had been made as of Monday afternoon, according to the Santa Fe County Sheriff ’s Office.

The victim, a 40-year-old Santa Fe man, said he was eastbound after leaving Los Alamos about 6 p.m. Thursday when he saw a white Jeep Wrangler bearing a Marine Corps veteran plate driving in front of him, according to a Sheriff ’s Office report.

The victim was driving a few car lengths behind the Jeep when the vehicle braked several times. The victim slowed down, according to the report.

The driver of the Jeep then pulled over at the intersection of N.M. 502 and N.M. 30, waited for the victim to drive by and got back on the highway behind the victim’s vehicle. The victim said the driver pulled up next to his vehicle and began shouting and making hand gestures, but he ignored the driver and continued driving.

According to the report, the victim was somewhere between the Rio Grande and Pojoaque Valley High School when he heard two loud pops, which he believed to be gunshots. He quickly accelerated and left the area.

He drove to the Phillips 66 gas station at Pojoaque Pueblo, called 911 and waited for law enforcement.

When sheriff ’s deputies arrived, they found the victim conscious, his hands bloodied from where he had been holding the back of his head. Deputy Michael Matison noted in his report that pieces of glass were found in the victim’s hair.

The victim told deputies that he felt as if he had been punched behind the head. He was then transported to Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center, according to the report.

According to Deputy Jonathan Jaramillo, a CAT scan showed a bullet between the victim’s scalp and skull. A neurosurgeon told Jaramillo that the victim’s skull was fractured and the bullet or fragments penetrated the skull.

The victim’s father said his son underwent surgery to remove the bullet fragments, but the victim still has a fragment in his skull and is recovering at home.

Sheriff ’s deputies found three bullet fragments inside the victim’s vehicle, as well as blood stains on the upper portion of the driver’s seat, according to John Maylone, one of the responding deputies.

As of Monday afternoon, the Sheriff ’s Office did not have any suspects or leads, but spokesman Juan Ríos said the report has been sent to other local law enforcement agencies in hopes they will be able to assist.

“We need help trying to identify the perpetrator because it’s a pretty serious incident,” said Ríos. “For someone to be driving down the road and then shot at and hit is scary.”

Staff reporter Phaedra Haywood contributed to this report.

Contact Michaela Meaney at 505-986-3062 or at mmeaney@sfnewmexican.com.