Cop fatally shoots suspect outside Walmart when he shot off the detective's rifle

In just a matter of seconds, an attempted arrest outside an Albuquerque Walmart turned into a deadly wrestling match over an officer’s gun.

Albuquerque police leaders released that shocking new video Thursday of a deadly takedown last month. It was the fifth police shooting by APD this year.

It all started with Adrianna Gonzales. APD officers tracked her down to the Walmart near Menaul and Wyoming in early April after a string of armed robberies, but she wasn’t alone.

Detectives quickly learned Mark Benavidez – who was already wanted by police – was there with her. When they split up, officers jumped into action.

Arresting Gonzales was the mission when APD detectives arrived at the northeast Albuquerque Walmart in early April.

“The warrant was for robbery with a deadly weapon three counts of conspiracy to commit these crimes,” said APD Commander Kyle Hartsock.

Gonzales surrendered in the parking lot while officers waited for her boyfriend, Benavidez, outside of the store.

“Mark, who again had an unrelated warrant for his arrest and was suspected has been involved with the armed robberies,” said Hartsock.

Officers were ready once he walked out. Surveillance video shows detectives tackling Benavidez to the ground, and in the chaos you can see he gets his hands on the detective’s rifle.

“Mark put his finger on the trigger of the police rifle. Soon after, Mark use his other hand to turn the safety off on the police rifle,” Hartsock said.

Then, more officers join the pile. Before Benavidez fires again, another detective gets her hands on it.

“This detective helps point the weapon that Benavidez has taking control of towards the ground to try to lessen the chance of a bystander or an officer getting shot,” said Hartsock.

Benavidez fired the detective’s rifle seven times before two officers grabbed their guns and shot him five times.

“Medical aid was rendered but he was pronounced deceased at the scene,” Hartsock said.

APD leaders say no bystanders or cars were hit by the rogue bullets. Now, they say they are figuring out how he even got his hands on the gun in the first place.

“That’s part of what’s going to be reviewed by Internal Affairs Force Division and the Force Review Board. That is definitely their role is to decide was there a problem there? And if there was a problem, how do we fix the problem? Is it a training problem? Is it an equipment problem, or is it a discipline problem?” said Hartsock.

Officers later found a stolen gun on Benavidez’s body and APD leaders say Gonzales admitted he was involved in the armed robberies.

As for Gonzales, she’s facing a long list of armed robbery charges and a judge ordered her to stay in jail before her trial.