BCSO Assisting Tribal Police with Barricaded Suspect, At Least 2 Tribal Officers Wounded

Albuquerque –

Around 1:10 PM, a call came out about two Tribal Police officers who were reportedly shot, and that officers were in need of assistance.

Deputies from the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO) rushed to the To’hajiilee Canoncito School area. This is about 38 miles west of Albuquerque and located on the Navajo Nation.

Upon arrival, BCSO deputies were informed that the two Navajo Nation officers and a suspect had already been transported to the University of New Mexico Hospital. The medical conditions of all three individuals are currently unknown. It is unclear if there were more gunshot wound victims at the scene.

BCSO was initially told that another suspect was at large and set up a perimeter. Via social media, the Navajo Nation Police issued a shelter-in-place alert for To’hajiilee residents.

We will update this story if we learn anymore information.

CORRECTION: An earlier version said Laguna Pueblo was one of the agencies involved. The incident happened on Navajo Nation.

UPDATE:

Officers were not able to locate a second, outstanding barricaded suspect. As per information known, the only suspect was the one taken to UNMH.

At 6:06 PM on March 6, the Shiprock Police Department Navajo Nation posted on Facebook that “According to official reports, Navajo Police Department officers responded to reports of gunfire near Navajo Housing around 11:50 AM. During the response, two Navajo Police officers were injured in a gunfire exchange. Both officers were transported to the University of New Mexico Hospital in Albuquerque, where they are in stable condition.”

In an update posted to Facebook on March 6th at 8:31 PM, the Navajo Nation Emergency Medical Services reported that crews from the Tohajiilee station responded with public safety partners to an officer-involved shooting in the Tohajiilee community. Ambulance crews acted quickly and worked closely with law enforcement to provide emergency care during the rapidly developing incident.

Physicians from the UNM EMS Consortium, who serve as EMS medical directors for Navajo Nation, intercepted the ambulances and assisted crews in treating the injured officers, highlighting the strength of their medical partnership.

The agency expressed support for the two injured officers and wished them a full recovery. It also thanked responding partners, including the Navajo Police Department, New Mexico State Police, Laguna Police Department, Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office, Bureau of Indian Affairs, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, for their coordinated response and asked the public to keep the injured officers, their families, and all first responders in their thoughts.