Jul. 28—A welfare check ended in gunfire after New Mexico State Police shot a man in Santa Fe who they said was armed and fired a weapon during a standoff with police on Friday.
On July 26, Santa Fe officers were dispatched after a woman called police and requested a welfare check for her daughter, who she believed was being assaulted by her boyfriend, 38-year-old Paul Gallegos, according to a news release from Wilson Silver, spokesperson for NMSP.
Santa Fe police spoke with the daughter, who had crawled through the window of a recreational vehicle to speak to police, Silver said. “Despite visible injuries including facial swelling and scratches, she denied any domestic abuse had occurred.”
The woman later told police the two had gotten into an argument because she had used Gallegos’ phone to buy drugs, according to the criminal complaint filed in Santa Fe Magistrate Court.
Officers talked to the woman before they heard a gunshot from the inside of the vehicle, according to the criminal complaint. Santa Fe police called NMSP, who arrived around 1:26 p.m.
As state police officers told Gallegos to get out of the vehicle, NMSP officer Nathan Dale “observed what appeared to be the barrel of a firearm emerging from one of the RV’s windows,” Wilson said. “Moments later, gunfire was reported, and at least one NMSP officer discharged their duty weapon in response.”
Gallegos exited the RV after shots were fired, the criminal complaint said. He was taken into custody and transported to a hospital for his injures.
Police spoke with Gallegos at the hospital, where Gallegos admitted that he had fired one shot from his revolver while inside of the RV because “he was thinking of hurting himself but stopped,” the criminal complaint stated. Gallegos added that he had considered “suicide by cop,” according to the complaint.
Gallegos is charged with two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon on a peace officer, battery and felony possession of a firearm.