Man in custody over shootings at New Mexico Democratic officials' homes, offices

HOUSTON, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- A man is in custody due to possible links with at least one shooting at the homes or offices of Democratic elected officials in Albuquerque, the largest city in the southwestern U.S. state New Mexico, authorities said Monday.

The unidentified suspect, who is said to be under 50, has not been formally charged in any of the cases, the Albuquerque Police Department (APD) said.

The APD has recovered a firearm that was linked to one of the shootings, APD Chief Harold Medina said at a brief news conference.

"We are trying to still link and see which cases are related and which are not related," said Medina. "So until we get more details and we finish the process of seeing where the evidence leads up and getting returns on our warrants, this will be the extent of our information."

Earlier on Monday, the APD reported that investigators are looking into a sixth shooting which happened in early December at the home of incoming New Mexico House Speaker, Democratic Representative Javier Martinez.

Including Martinez, six Democratic elected officials' homes or offices were shot at in December 2022 and January 2023.

It remains unclear if the shootings are all connected, though police say they've found "potential connections between some of the shootings."

However, Medina said it was "too early" to talk about motives behind the shootings, which were all directed towards homes or offices of Democratic officials.

During the shootings, multiple rounds have been fired into the doors and walls of the officials' homes or offices, in some cases while the officials were inside with their families. No one has been hurt.

According to the APD, the first shooting occurred on Dec. 4, 2022, at the home of Bernalillo County Commissioner Adriann Barboa. Someone shot eight rounds at his house.

On Dec. 10, ShotSpotter technology detected several gunshots in the area of New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez's former campaign office, where the attorney general had already moved out following his November election.

One day later, the home of then Bernalillo Commissioner Debbie O'Malley came under fire. More than a dozen gunshot impacts were identified on walls and the house.

Last week, state Senator Linda Lopez's home was hit by at least eight shots after midnight, and the police department's ShotSpotter system registered three shots fired at a downtown law office where state Senator Moe Maestas works.

The shootings occurred nearly two years after a large group of supporters of then U.S. President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 6, 2021, and disrupted a joint session of Congress to affirm the 2020 presidential election results.