Shooting takes place near the Governor’s Mansion
State Police don’t believe Lujan Grisham was target
SANTA FE — The New Mexico State Police are asking the public for help identifying a car that was involved in a shooting near the Governor’s Mansion north of downtown Santa Fe last week.
Tripp Stelnicki, a spokesman for the governor’s office, said Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham was not at the mansion when someone in a car traveling at high speed shot toward another car that was stopped outside the mansion gates.
“At this time, we have no reason to believe the governor or any elected official was targeted,” State Police Lt. Mark Soriano said in an email.
Stelnicki said there was someone in the targeted car who was apparently waiting to get through the mansion gates for a meeting. He could not immediately identify who was in the car.
The incident took place about noon on Dec. 11. The State Police news release doesn’t say how many shots may have been fired or whether the targeted car was hit by any shots.
The Wednesday release announcing that did not mention that it took place outside the Governor’s Mansion but provided the address of the incident as 1 Mansion Drive. The agency later confirmed the shooting was near the Governor’s Mansion. No injuries were reported.
Stelnicki said it’s his understanding that investigators believe the shooting may have been intended as vandalism, possibly “a couple of kids screwing around.”
The suspect car is a gray fourdoor Nissan with a black front bumper, a damaged hood tied down with a rope and a turquoise New Mexico license plate. The trunk and the top of the car are a lighter gray, the release says.
Anyone with information is asked to call State Police at 505-827-9300.