New Mexico State Police involved in fatal shooting on I-40

MCKINLEY COUNTY, N.M. — An officer-involved shooting on Interstate 40, near milepost 64 remains under investigation.

According to Ray Wilson, an officer and spokesman for New Mexico State Police, on April 16 at around 11:56 a.m., a NMSP officer was dispatched in relation to a welfare check on a male slumped over the steering wheel of a brown BMW passenger car.

Wilson did not note the name of the dispatched officer or the name of the BMW driver. The location of the incident is not far from the confines of the Navajo Nation. An official police report was not immediately available.

“The officer arrived and made contact with the male,” Wilson said. “During the encounter, a scuffle ensued, and the officer fired at least one shot from his duty weapon striking the suspect. After the gunshot was fired the suspect continued to fight the officer.”

Wilson said a passing semi-truck driver saw the suspect fighting with the officer and stopped to assist. “The (good Samaritan) trucker observed that the suspect had a gun,” Wilson said. “He threw the suspect’s gun out of his reach and helped the officer take him into custody. Once the suspect was in custody the officer called for an ambulance and began to render medical aid.”

Wilson did not state what type of gun was used by the suspect.

The unidentified suspect succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced deceased at the scene by the Office of the Medical Investigator, Wilson said. The officer involved was physically uninjured and was placed on standard administrative leave and will not be named until after his interview, noted Wilson.