Officers fatally shot Pinedo as he lunged for gun

Juan Angel Pinedo had several chances to put his gun down before being shot and killed by Las Cruces police officers, said Las Cruces Police Chief Patrick Gallagher.



Pinedo, 32, led police officers on a foot pursuit for several blocks and eventually across the Las Cruces High School campus before he was fatally shot. Pinedo refused to listen to at least a dozen command from officers, Gallagher said at a news conference on Thursday.



The officer-involved shooting occurred about 6 p.m. Sept. 27.



allagher said Pinedo jumped over a fence onto the southwest end of Las Cruces High's campus while being chased by police officers. That's when Pinedo dropped a handgun he was carrying, police said.



“At one point Pinedo’s hands were up in the air,” Gallagher said. “For unknown reasons, Pinedo turned around within seconds and reached for the gun. That’s when officers opened fire where he was hit four times, in the head and upper torso. He was pronounced dead on the scene.”



Gallagher said four officers fired a combined 18 shots at Pinedo. Each of the officers who fired a weapon was placed on standard administrative leave and each has since returned to duty, he said. Police have not released the names of the officers.