Incident: Sunday, August 16, 2026, New Mexico State Road 518 near mileposts 29 and 27, Mora County, New Mexico. Footage released by the New Mexico State Police on Thursday, October 1, 2026.
According to the New Mexico State Police, officers responded at about 11:05 a.m. to reports of a domestic violence incident involving the occupants of a silver Ford F-150 heading north on New Mexico State Road 518 near milepost 29 in Mora County. Initial reports said a man was striking a woman inside the truck. A second witness reported seeing the woman try to get out of the truck while he held her.
When officers arrived, they found the woman lying motionless on the roadway. She was pronounced dead at the scene. NMSP identified her as a 34-year-old woman.
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At about noon, the man, 24, returned to the area in the same truck. NMSP says he refused to stop and led state police officers and Mora County sheriff’s deputies on a pursuit south on NM 518 before stopping near milepost 27. Officers saw him get out of the truck armed with a handgun.
At one point he held the gun to his own head. Officers repeatedly ordered him to drop it. NMSP says he ignored the commands and pointed the handgun toward officers, and two New Mexico State Police officers fired, striking him.
He was taken to a hospital for treatment. No officers or deputies were injured. He has been charged with second-degree murder, five counts of aggravated assault upon a peace officer with a deadly weapon, aggravated fleeing a law enforcement officer, receipt, transportation or possession of a firearm or destructive device by certain persons, false imprisonment and aggravated battery against a household member.
The shooting is the subject of a criminal investigation that will be reviewed by the district attorney’s office, and of an internal investigation by the department, which NMSP calls standard procedure. NMSP says the investigation may take up to a year, and that the decision on whether the officers’ actions were justified rests with the district attorney’s office. No finding has been released.
The video above is the New Mexico State Police’s own Critical Incident Video.
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