Las Cruces Police and a multi-agency task force are investigating an officer-involved shooting that resulted in the death of an armed suspect believed to be responsible for a robbery committed earlier in the day. Lohman Avenue was closed at I-25 due to the investigation. A videoposted on Facebook captured part of the incident and a still photo from that video is included with this story.
The incident began at about 3 p.m. Officers were dispatched to the report of a robbery and theft of a pickup at an address near the 1300 block of Lohman Avenue. Officers learned that the suspect stole a white pickup and fled from the area. Sometime later, officers located the white pickup on Lohman Avenue. Preliminary information from the investigation appears to indicate the driver parked the pickup on Lohman Avenue, directly above I-25, and exited the vehicle. He was armed with a knife when he confronted officers.
The officers fired at the suspect, striking him at least once. The suspect was transported to an area hospital where he succumbed to his injuries. His identity is not known at this time.
No officers were injured during the incident.
Other vehicles were on Lohman Avenue at the time of the incident. Investigators are asking for witnesses from those vehicles to call police with information they may have. Witnesses may call police at (575) 526-0795.
Las Cruces Police are continuing to investigate the incident along with the Officer-involved Incident Task Force, which is standard protocol for a use of deadly force incident. The task force includes investigators from LCPD, New Mexico State Police, the Dona Ana County Sheriff’s Office and New Mexico State University Police.
Information from Las Cruces Police