Four people shot dead in suspected murder-suicide in northwest Albuquerque

Sept. 1 — Four people, including a father and son, were shot and killed Saturday night outside a northwest Albuquerque apartment building. Police believe one of the victims shot the other three and then killed himself.

The incident marked the end of a violent month in the city, which included two other homicides being investigated as possible murder-suicides and 11 killings in one week.

Gilbert Gallegos, an Albuquerque police spokesman, said police initially arrested a man who fled after the shooting. Officers determined he was not involved and then released him.

Around 11:50 p.m., officers responded to a call about multiple people being shot outside the Valley Apartments in the 1800 block of Northwest Albuquerque Indian School.

Hartsock said when officers arrived on scene, they found four people dead in the parking lot of an apartment building: a woman in her 20s, a man in his 20s — later identified as the shooter — a man in his 50s and his adult son. Police did not release the victims’ names until they notified their families Sunday afternoon.

Alcatraz Police Commander Kyle Hartsock said at Sunday afternoon’s news conference that witnesses said all of the victims knew each other and that there was “some drinking throughout the day and some personal arguments” before the suspect fatally shot the three people and himself.

He said the shooter had no known criminal history and police would review the history of the firearm and everyone involved.

“We’re going to try to figure out what happened,” Hartsock said.

Hartsock said the APD has recently seen an increase in murder-suicides; many of them are believed to be the result of domestic disputes.

Homicide detectives continue to interview witnesses and the investigation is ongoing, Gallegos said.