Armed man caught by police near Las Cruces Walmart store, averting ‘potentially violent incident’

LAS CRUCES, New Mexico -- An armed man was taken into custody near a Las Cruces Walmart Supercenter on Wednesday, averting what police described as "a potentially violent incident."

A police spokesman said officers initially responded to a report of a man with a long gun walking near a daycare center on Divot Avenue; as police converged on the area, they learned the man was headed toward the Walmart store a block away on Walton Boulevard.

Officers found the 20-year-old man moments later on Walmart property and ordered him to drop the 9mm handgun with extended magazine that he was carrying, the spokesman said.

The man dropped the weapon and was taken into protective custody after authorities said they discovered he suffered from a mental and delusional disorder.

"The man told police he was armed because he thought people were following him, and that he wanted to shoot it out with them," LCPD spokesman Dan Trujillo said.

In addition to the handgun he was carrying, Trujillo said officers also found a .22 caliber rifle in the man's car which was parked nearby.

The man was being evaluated at a local hospital, Trujillo said. His name was not being released because police indicated he faces no criminal charges at this time.