An unidentified man was fatally shot by one or more law enforcement officers in Valencia County following a police pursuit Friday, according to New Mexico State Police.
The Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office spotted the vehicle of a man wanted on suspicion of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and who is a person of interest in multiple murders and contacted state police around 10:50 p.m., according to A press release. The driver was reportedly seen heading south on Interstate 25 in a pickup truck.
A state police sergeant deployed tire deflators around mile marker 195, and the truck driver ran over them and continued south, the news release said.
A State Police officer spotted the truck and gave chase; the truck driver drove through the town of Belen and re-entered southbound I-25 in the northbound lanes, the statement said. At approximately mile marker 190, a state police officer was able to stop the vehicle by performing a Pursuit Intervention Technique, or PIT, maneuver.
Members of the Bernalillo County SWAT team and Belen police arrived to assist. Officers gave the man numerous commands to get out of the vehicle, the statement said, and at one point two Bernalillo deputies and a state police officer shot him, the statement said. The man was struck and pronounced dead at the scene.
State police were working with the medical investigating officer’s office to identify the man.
No law enforcement officers were injured. Information about the officer and deputies involved was not available Saturday.
