‘It was a very scary night’: Residents shaken by Doa Ana deputy’s shooting of neighborhood man

Neighbors of a Doña Ana County man are still shaken after a sheriff’s deputy shot him on their street Tuesday night. The shooting happened at the intersection of Chula Vista Road and De Vaca Court.

Residents described their street as a typically quiet area, but that quiet was interrupted Tuesday night when they heard several gunshots.

Those shots prompted a response by Doña Ana County Sheriff’s deputies around 11 p.m. Officials said a man with a gun approached deputies, leading to an interaction that ended with a deputy pulling his gun and firing. It was confirmed Thursday by the sheriff’s office that the 36-year-old man was hit 3 times.

Nervous neighbors told ABC-7 the man’s family had a history of being rowdy and shooting guns on their property. But Tuesday night was a different story.

“It was a very scary night. I mean, although like the shooting and stuff they do that… they do it like every once in a while, they just shoot their rifles,” said one neighbor who has lived in the area for almost 30 years.

ABC-7 asked her what she thought was different about Tuesday night to get the deputies called out.

“Because it wouldn’t stop,” she responded.

The Sheriff’s Office confirmed the man was still listed in critical condition in an El Paso hospital as of Thursday afternoon.

Officials said this was only the second deputy-involved shooting of the year for the sheriff’s office. The other occurred in June, when two deputies drew their weapons and fire while assisting Las Cruces police in a deadly shootout with a man near a Home Depot store.

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