Police said a drunken dispute over a parking spot Monday night ended hours later when an officer shot and injured a man at an apartment complex along East Central.
Albuquerque Police Department spokeswoman Rebecca Atkins did not identify the man who was shot but said he is in the hospital and expected to recover.
She said the man is facing charges for firing at police.
Atkins said at least one officer fired at least one shot during the incident, striking the man.
The incident marked the third time law enforcement shot someone in the past seven days. Bernalillo County deputies shot and killed a man in the South Valley on Sept. 20 and, a day later, APD shot and injured a man who allegedly threw rocks at an officer in Northeast Albuquerque.
Tuesday’s shooting was the 14th time APD has shot at someone this year. Seven of the shootings have been fatal.
Police Chief Harold Medina said the entire incident was sparked by a dispute over a parking spot where drinking played a factor.
“The combination of alcohol and firearms are very problematic for the residents of the city of Albuquerque … We really need to develop responsible gun ownership and it’s these little feuds that are leading up to major incidents,” he said during a Tuesday morning briefing. “It’s disheartening to think that a dispute over parking resulted in the brandishing and discharging of a firearm and officers dispatched.”
He said it was unclear if the man shot at someone – or in the air – before police were called, adding “there’s still a lot of questions over the sequence of events that occurred.”
Chase Jewell, an APD spokesperson, said in an update early Tuesday morning that police initially responded around 11 p.m. to a dispute at Whispering Sands Apartments, near Western Skies and Central SE.
He said one of the people involved in the dispute holed up inside an apartment.
“While officers were working on negotiating with this individual, shots were fired,” Jewell said. “It was reported that this individual had fired at police and at least one officer had discharged their firearm.”
By 2 a.m. Tuesday, the man was still holed up inside the apartment and Jewell said the SWAT and Crisis Negotiating Teams were called in.
Journal assistant city editor Aubrey Hovey contributed to this report.
