Two arrested after late-night Gallup shooting on East Highway 66

Gallup police took two people into custody after a late-night shooting on East Highway 66 that left a juvenile inside the vehicle hit by gunfire, turning a busy stretch of roadway into an active crime scene just before 10 p.m. Monday, May 11.

Officers responded after witnesses reported several shots were fired into another vehicle. Police have not released a motive, identified the people taken into custody, or said what charges they face, and investigators were still trying Tuesday, May 12, to sort out how the shooting unfolded. The juvenile’s condition was not included in the information released so far.

A vehicle believed to be tied to the shooting was later found at Walmart on West Maloney Avenue and impounded, widening the investigation beyond East Highway 66 and into another heavily traveled part of Gallup. That kind of rapid expansion from one roadway to another suggests officers treated the case as an urgent public-safety matter, not a routine disturbance.

For residents and businesses along East Highway 66, the incident is a reminder of how quickly gunfire can spill into ordinary traffic space and affect nearby neighborhoods, stores and commuters. The Gallup Police Department says it has 60 commissioned officers, 10 public service officers and 6 civilian employees, a staffing level that helps explain how the department could move quickly into a citywide search after the initial shots were reported.

The case also lands in a broader public-health context. New Mexico health officials say the state has experienced a troubling surge in firearm injury in recent years, and the New Mexico Department of Health says injuries are the leading cause of death among people ages 1 to 44 in the state. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says firearm injuries were the leading cause of death among U.S. children and teens ages 1 to 19 in 2020 and 2021, which makes the fact that a juvenile was inside the targeted vehicle especially serious.

Gallup has seen other youth-linked gun cases in recent months. In February, two juvenile males were arrested after an attempted armed robbery and shots were fired on East Maloney Avenue, a case that added to concerns about young people being caught up in violent episodes around the city. Monday’s shooting remained under investigation, and police had not released any broader warning of an ongoing threat.