Socorro deputies kill 1, injure 2 others in shooting south of Belen
Jun. 19—ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Authorities say a gunfight between Socorro County deputies and "at least one" person inside a truck Thursday night led to an explosion and left one man dead and two others seriously injured in Veguita.
New Mexico State Police spokesman Ray Wilson said no deputies were injured and 26-year-old Joseph Remalia, of Los Lunas, was charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm. He did not give the conditions of the two people, a man and a woman, that were injured.
Wilson said Socorro County deputies responded around 9 p.m. to 78 Pedro Place after a neighbor called 911 to report several people inside a pickup truck shooting guns at a vacant house.
He said the deputies were met with gunfire from "at least one of the individuals" before the deputies fired back. Wilson said during the shootout the truck was hit by bullets and "there was an explosion."
He said after the explosion one man took off into the desert and two men and two women were detained. Wilson said two of them were hospitalized, Remalia was arrested and the man who ran into the desert was found dead in a nearby arroyo.
He said the man's body was taken to the Office of the Medical Investigator in Albuquerque for identification and cause of death.
"The identities of the individuals who were injured will not be released by State Police unless they are charged at a later date," Wilson said. "This is a complex crime scene... many details are still under investigation."
Socorro County Undersheriff Amanda Vega declined to answer any questions about the incident on Friday afternoon.
