A man underwent surgery and was listed in stable condition after being shot in the leg on Albuquerque's Westside this week, with police saying they still don't know how the shooting started and no arrest has been made.
Southwest Area Command officers were dispatched to 757 98th St. SW around 9:20 p.m. on Wednesday after a call came in reporting a shooting, according to ABQ RAW, citing the Albuquerque Police Department. The call indicated that a male had sustained a gunshot wound to his leg, and he was taken to the University of New Mexico Hospital, where he underwent surgery.
He was listed in stable condition following the procedure, per the same report. As of the outlet's Thursday report, APD had not disclosed how the shooting began, and the investigation remained ongoing with no arrest made.
Broader Patterns at UNM Hospital's Trauma Unit
While the circumstances of this particular shooting remain unclear, the victim's path to University of New Mexico Hospital follows a pattern documented in gunshot-wound cases there more broadly. Over a three-year period, 72% of patients treated at UNMH for gunshot wounds used Medicaid as their primary insurance, according to an analysis from City Desk. That same analysis found that patients ages 15 to 35 made up 65% of those treated for gunshot wounds during the period studied, and that male patients far outpaced female patients among those cases.
It is not known whether the Westside victim falls within those demographic patterns, since his age and identity have not been disclosed. The data simply reflects who has typically ended up in UNMH's trauma unit for gunshot injuries in recent years.
A Separate Incident Earlier This Year
The Westside shooting is not the only recent case to send a gunshot patient to UNM Hospital from Southwest Albuquerque. In August, a Bernalillo County Sheriff's Office deputy shot a person near Churchill and 62nd SW, according to the Albuquerque Journal. In that case, officials said the man had charged at the deputy with a knife, and he was hospitalized in critical condition with a single gunshot wound before undergoing surgery.
That shooting prompted an investigation by the Multi-Agency Task Force, with the sheriff's office cautioning that the information released at the time was preliminary. The cases involved different agencies and circumstances.
For now, the Westside shooting remains an open case. APD has not released a suspect description, and the agency has not indicated when additional details might be made public.
