The shooting happened when a Hobbs police officer was checking out an abandoned vehicle, and authorities are searching for a second suspect who escaped custody in a stolen patrol car.
By Elise Kaplan – Source Albuquerque Journal, N.M.
A police officer was wounded, and a suspect killed in a shootout in Hobbs Wednesday night.
The officer was taken to the hospital with a gunshot wound. He has not been publicly identified, and his condition has not been released.
A second suspect — 28-year-old Janessa Perez of Hobbs — was taken into custody and handcuffed but managed to steal a police cruiser and flee the area, according to a news release from the police department.
“Perez crashed a short time later then fled on foot,” the release states. “Perez is still outstanding at this time.”
According to the Hobbs Police Department, around 10:30 p.m. an officer spotted a vehicle that appeared to be abandoned on the 1900 block of N Turner. A man fled the area, and “multiple gunshots were fired.”
Both the officer and the suspect were struck.
Perez was taken into custody, but police say she was able to escape while paramedics and officers were rendering aid to the suspect.
The suspect was taken to the hospital, where he died. He had not been identified.
The New Mexico State Police will investigate the incident.
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