EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — The 19-year-old suspect who was injured in an officer-involved shooting last week in Las Cruces remains in serious but stable condition, according to the Las Cruces Police Department.
The Las Cruces Police Department held a press conference on Thursday, March 20, on the officer-involved shooting and shared new details on the incident.
Las Cruces Police Chief Jeremy Story said just before 7 p.m. on Thursday, March 13, a security guard working at the 500 block of South Main Street placed a 911 call regarding a person with a gun, who was later identified as Gabriel Padilla, 19.
The security guard said that Padilla was running toward Main Street with a gun in his hand and that he had fired the gun twice.
Surveillance footage of a nearby business showed Padilla running across the Peter Piper Parking lot with a gun in his hand. A shell casing was recovered in this area, Story said.
When an officer arrived at the scene, he saw Padilla walking with an individual in a parking lot on 805 South Main Street.
According to body camera footage that was provided by the Las Cruces Police Department, the officer is seen exiting his vehicle and identifying himself as a police officer while Padilla is seen walking with the other individual.
The footage shows Padilla and the individual walking away, ignoring the officer’s commands, and then Padilla is seen running southwest through the parking lot.
While running away from the officer, Padilla is seen reaching for a gun and the officer can be heard yelling at Padilla to stop reaching for the weapon.
The footage then shows Padilla stumbling and running south on a sidewalk by Main Street with a gun in his hand and the officer discharges his weapon several times.
Padilla then falls to the ground and a gun can be seen in Padilla’s right hand. Padilla then drops the gun and the officer kicks the gun away.
First aid was rendered to Padilla and he was then taken into custody.
Padilla is being charged with aggravated assault on a peace officer, negligent use of a deadly weapon, and resisting evading, or obstructing an officer.
Padilla is currently in serious but stable condition and will be booked into the Dona Ana County Detention Center when he is released from the hospital, police said.
Story said Padilla has a record and was in an escalation recently with the Sheriff’s Department.
“He had an escalation especially recently with potentially firearms use, seeing he wanted to have gang affiliation, things like that that are in reports with the Sheriff’s Department,” Story said.
The officer involved in the shooting began working with the Las Cruces Police Department in August 2021 and is a lateral transfer, police said.
The officer was placed on administrative leave which is a standard protocol for an officer-involved shooting, police said.
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