Sep. 22—Santa Fe police fatally shot a suspect early Sunday morning in a neighborhood near St. Francis Drive and San Mateo Road, authorities said.
But neither city police nor New Mexico State Police, which is investigating the shooting, has provided details of the incident.
State police said in a post Sunday morning on social media a suspect was dead and officers were uninjured following the shooting, which the agency said took place in the 100 block of La Placita Circle.
State police spokesperson Ray Wilson said late Sunday he was still waiting for investigators to provide information before he could release a statement about the incident.
Santa Fe police Deputy Chief Ben Valdez said the shooting happened around 6:30 a.m., but provided no further information.
Valdez said his department won’t release the identities of the officers involved until after they’ve spoken with state police investigators and a psychologist.
Sunday’s shooting was at least the fifth time this year Santa Fe police have fired at a suspect and the third time this month. It is the second fatal shooting by city police in 2024; police shootings have left three other suspects and possibly one officer wounded.
Santa Fe police shot and fatally wounded Rick Chavez, 35, following a chase March 10. Chavez died a couple of days after the incident. George Theragood, 42, also was wounded in the shooting. Police accused Theragood of trying to help Chavez evade arrest and charged him with a slew of counts.
Officer Charles Ovalle was hit by gunfire and bitten by a police service dog during the incident. While there has been no evidence of shots fired by Chavez or Theragood at the scene, neither state police nor Santa Fe police has confirmed Ovalle was struck by a bullet fired by another officer.
Police shot and wounded Jermaine Garcia, 37, during an incident April 24 on Cerrillos Road near the Interfaith Community Shelter at Pete’s Place. Garcia was accused of stealing a kitchen knife from nearby Café Castro and using it to try to steal a vehicle and threaten people in the area.
Earlier this month, Santa Fe police shot and wounded Jesus Rafael Contreras, 41, in the parking lot of the Denny’s restaurant on Cerrillos Road. An arrest warrant affidavit says Contreras made several 911 calls the evening of Sept. 4, telling dispatchers he was armed and suicidal. Police allege he pointed a firearm at officers before they fired at him.
State police say city officers fired at a suspect in four separate locations on busy downtown streets the morning of Sept. 8, as preparations were underway for a Fiesta de Santa Fe parade and a Fiesta Mass was winding down at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi.
The incident, in which Justin Jimenez, 21, is accused of driving recklessly at high rates of speed in a stolen SUV, caused a wave of panic at the cathedral and led to the cancellation of the parade and other remaining Fiesta events.
City officers and at least one Santa Fe County deputy first fired shots at Jimenez at the intersection of Nusbaum Street and Washington Avenue, according to state police, and then at Palace Avenue and Washington, at the corner of the Plaza. It was unclear where else along Palace Avenue police fired shots before the stolen vehicle became disabled at the intersection with Canyon Road.
Jimenez was treated at a local hospital after the incident, but there has been no indication from law enforcement he was struck by gunfire.
City and state police have released only sparse details about the downtown shooting.
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