Las Cruces police identify woman killed in officer-involved shooting

LAS CRUCES, New Mexico (KVIA) -- Las Cruces Police identify the woman killed in Tuesday's officer-involved shooting as 45-year-old Teresa Gomez.

A bicycle officer started talking to Gomez, who was driving a car, early Tuesday morning on the 1300 block of Burley Court.

Investigators have not provided a lot of details, explaining only that the officer fired at least one round, which hit Gomez. She died at the hospital. The officer suffered minor injuries but was not hospitalized. He is now on "standard administrative leave," according to officials.

Her passenger, 38-year-old Jesus Garcia, had misdemeanor and felony warrants out for his arrest. Officers detained him separately and he was booked into the Dona Ana County Detention Center. According to jail records, Garcia is not charged in this case and police did not indicate that he was involved in the officer-involved shooting in any way. His booking photo, taken at 8 a.m. on October 3, 2023, is included below.

"Las Cruces police and the Officer-involved Incident Task Force are investigating the incident," the department explained in a news release Wednesday. "Additional details are limited and cannot be shared publicly until witnesses are interviewed and investigators can process evidence."

Read our initial report here.