Albuquerque, New Mexico

From Albuquerque‘s KOBtv.com of September 13, 2005

Attempted truck theft ends with gunshot wound

A man who drew his weapon on a suspected thief attempting to steal his pickup from in front of his house wound up shooting and critically injuring a third person.

The incident happened Monday afternoon on Ricardo Road south of Belen. Deputies say a homeowner went outside and pointed a gun at the car thief and told him to get out of his truck. That’s when deputies say an accomplice drove another car directly at the homeowner at a high rate of speed.

“Our calling party, our victim, turned around with his gun and fired a round into the windshield of that vehicle, striking the driver of it,” said Valencia County Sheriff’s Department Spokeswoman Shannon Brady.

The man who was shot was in critical condition Monday night following surgery. The man who reportedly was trying to steal the homeowner’s truck ran away from the scene when the shooting occurred and hasn’t been found. Deputies haven’t released the names of any of the people involved.