Las Cruces police say they opened fire on man who pointed gun at officers
UPDATE: Las Cruces police officials said Thursday that officers shot at a man suspected of pointing a gun at them.
30-year-old Kevin Amaral was treated and released from a local hospital before being jailed without bond on charges of aggravated assault on a peace officer with a deadly weapon, resisting arrest and negligent use of a deadly weapon.
In a statement released Thursday, LCPD said officers encountered Amaral while responding Wednesday to a report of suspicious person in the 2800 block of Huntington Drive; that's when he reportedly pulled a gun on officers before running away.
Police said they caught up with Amaral a short time later in the 2900 block of Huntington, where several officers fired upon him. A gun belonging to Amaral was later recovered by police.
A task force that includes the state police and the Dona Ana County Sheriff's Office is investigating the officer-involved shooting. Witnesses to the shooting were asked by authorities to contact LCPD at (575) 526-0795.
ORIGINAL REPORT: LAS CRUCES, New Mexico -- Police shot a suspect Wednesday afternoon near a busy Las Cruces intersection, prompting a huge law enforcement presence into the nighttime hours.
Las Cruces police officials confirmed there was an officer-involved shooting, but provided few other details. They said their officers were ok, but declined to comment on the suspect's condition.
The incident happened about 4:30 p.m. along Huntington Drive at Telshor Boulevard, which remained closed Wednesday evening and was marked with yellow crime tape amid police activity at the scene.
Residents in the area told ABC-7 that they heard dozens of shots fired.
"A bunch of cop cars just came screaming down the main road... they stopped not even 15 or 20 seconds later and there were a bunch of gun shots," said witness Ben Steele.
A brief statement issued by the City of Las Cruces asked motorists to avoid the area, but offered no other information on the circumstances surrounding the shooting.
