Homes, offices of 5 NM Democratic officials shot up in past month

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The homes or offices of five elected Democratic officials in New Mexico, including the new attorney general, have been buffeted by gunfire over the past month, and authorities are working to determine if the attacks are connected.

Nobody was injured in the shootings, which are being investigated by local and federal authorities, said Albuquerque Police Chief Harold Medina. He called the investigation a top priority.

The attacks come amid a sharp rise in threats to members of Congress and two years after supporters of then-President Donald Trump attacked the U.S. Capitol and sent lawmakers running for their lives. Local school board members and election workers across the country have also endured harassment, intimidation and threats of violence.

In New Mexico, the assaults began Dec. 4, when someone shot eight rounds at the Albuquerque home of Bernalillo County Commissioner Adriann Barboa, police said. Seven days later, someone fired more than a dozen times at the Albuquerque house of thenBernalillo Commissioner Debbie O’Malley.

On Dec. 10, ShotSpotter technology detected several gunshots in the area of New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez’s former campaign office, police spokesman Gilbert Gallegos said.

This week, multiple shots were fired at the home of state Sen. Linda Lopez and the office of state Sen. Moe Maestas.

“It is traumatizing to have several bullets shot directly through my front door when my family and I were getting ready to celebrate Christmas,” Barboa, a county commissioner since January 2021, told Albuquerque TV station KRQE.

O’Malley, who left her position as commissioner after serving a maximum of two terms, said in an email that she and her husband were asleep before the gunfire struck the adobe wall surrounding their home.

“To say I am angry about this attack on my home — on my family, is the least of it,” O’Malley said in an email.

Lopez, who has been a state senator since 1997, said three of the bullets shot at her home passed through her 10-year-old daughter’s bedroom.

Republican leaders in the New Mexico Senate said in a statement that they are “incredibly grateful” their colleagues were unharmed and called for the arrest and prosecution of those responsible.

Federal officials have warned about the potential for violence and attacks on government officials and buildings, and the Department of Homeland Security has said domestic extremism remains a top terrorism threat in the U.S.