Argument over lantern pricing led to shooting

Suspect with female companion being sought

Police say the shooting that left an 18-year-old seriously injured sparked from a dispute over the price of decorative lanterns the victim was selling at the corner of Lomas and University NE Monday night.

Albuquerque police spokesman Simon Drobik said the man who shot Syed Haider mentioned “being disrespected” and threatened to shoot Haider before pulling out a handgun and doing just that.

He said the shooter then fled with a woman in a mid-’90s to early 2000s “Toyota-style” vehicle with a teal license plate.

Drobik said Haider is still in critical condition “but improving.”

Police are now looking for the shooter, who witnesses described as Hispanic and in his 20s, around 5 feet 6 inches tall, with a mustache and dark hair. The woman he was with is described as Hispanic and in her early 20s, 5 feet tall, wearing a bandana.

“One witness also described there being a child in the offender’s vehicle,” he said.

Police were called to the shooting at the vacated Galles Chevrolet car dealership around 10:45 p.m. By the time offi-

cers arrived, Haider had been taken to the hospital after being shot in the abdomen.

Police say Haider had set up a trailer in the vacant lot and was selling hanging, orb-shaped lanterns out of it since at least 7 p.m.