ALBUQUERQUE, NM – The Albuquerque Police Department has identified the suspect in a shooting incident that left one man dead and another injured early Tuesday. The suspect, Peter Garcia, 43, was fatally shot by a security guard at an apartment complex in Northeast Albuquerque. Prior to his death, Garcia reportedly shot a woman, and her son, 27-year-old Donald Slydell Jr., killing him, before fleeing in the car they had been sleeping in.
Authorities confirmed that Slydell’s mother was also injured in the incident, with a gunshot wound to the head/neck area. She was able to provide information to detectives at the hospital, although she remains hospitalized. Identifying the deceased took several days due to challenges in contacting his relatives for notification.
The shooting took place around 3:30 a.m. in the area of Ponderosa NE, near Montgomery Park, where Slydell, his mother, and sister were sleeping in a vehicle before the violent altercation occurred. After the shooting, Garcia fled the scene in the vehicle, eventually crashing into a Jeep near an apartment complex on Montgomery, near Louisiana. A confrontation ensued between Garcia and the Jeep’s driver, which ended when a security guard intervened and shot Garcia dead.
APD spokesperson Gilbert Gallegos stated that the security guard’s actions were not expected to result in charges, as he intervened at the climax of Garcia’s violent spree. The swift action of the security guard potentially prevented further harm or fatalities. The investigation into the incident is ongoing, as authorities work to piece together the events leading up to the tragic altercation in Northeast Albuquerque.