The investigation is continuing into the shooting death of 2-year-old Lincoln Harmon in December.
GoFundMe page for Lincoln Harmons, 2, who died of a gunshot wound in Rio Rancho on December 8, 2021. (Source: GoFundMe)
“Currently, investigators are waiting for evidence analysis from the state crime lab and still investigating the incident,” said Rio Rancho Police Lt. Richard Koschade in an email Wednesday.
The toddler’s parents called 911 on Dec. 8, saying he was bloody and not breathing. The mother told the dispatcher her son had fallen from a chair in the family’s Enchanted Hills home.
Responding officers found a bullet near Lincoln and a holster on the kitchen cabinet. The cause of death was confirmed to be a gunshot wound.
RRPD has released little information in the case, as per the City of Rio Rancho’s policy of not releasing police reports or other records involving minors. City Attorney Greg Lauer cites the state children’s code and New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department policy as reasons.
Multiple news organizations in Albuquerque and Santa Fe believe that interpretation of the children’s code conflicts with the state Inspection of Public Records Act and the New Mexico Attorney General’s IPRA compliance handbook. The office of state Attorney General Hector Balderas has taken no action on two complaints filed in the matter of Rio Rancho police records involving juveniles more than a year ago and 2½ years ago.
