Bat-wielding Chaparral man shot and critically wounded by Doña Ana County Sheriff’s deputy
CHAPARRAL, New Mexico -- A Doña Ana County Sheriff's deputy shot and critically wounded a man wielding a bat Monday night in Chaparral near the scene of a domestic violence incident, officials said Tuesday.
The deputy-involved shooting happened around 8 p.m. along Coles Road, just south of the home where the disturbance occurred in the 400 block of Paseo Real.
Investigators said a man threatened his parents with an unspecified weapon and fled the home when deputies arrived. Those deputies found the man a short time later as they searched the area.
A spokesperson for the sheriff's office indicated there was a "confrontation" between the man, whose identity has not been released, and a deputy.
The man suffered a single gunshot wound during that confrontation and was taken to an El Paso hospital, where officials said he was clinging to life.
A statement released by the sheriff's spokesperson didn’t provide details on the circumstances of the confrontation and shooting, but the agency did release a couple of dashcam images to ABC-7 of the incident, which shows the man wielding a bat and swinging it before he was shot by the deputy. (See photos at top of this article.)
Initially, a source had told ABC-7 it was believed the man had died after being shot. However, he was still listed in very critical condition as of midday Tuesday, according to authorities.
The deputy who fired the gunshot has been placed on administrative leave, which is standard procedure in a deputy-involved shooting cases, while the investigation takes place.