Los Lunas Police Seek Armed Suspect After Road-Rage Shooting at Valencia Y

One person was shot and a gunman remains at large after a road-rage confrontation erupted at the Valencia Y on Thursday, shutting down one of Valencia County's most heavily trafficked intersections and triggering a public-safety warning still in effect as of Wednesday.

Los Lunas police responded around 12 p.m. after receiving multiple 911 calls reporting gunshots near Main Street NE and New Mexico Highway 47. The Valencia Y, where N.M. Highway 6 and N.M. 47 converge in the village of Los Lunas, was closed early that afternoon while investigators processed the scene. The intersection carries an estimated 26,000 vehicle trips per day, with projections topping 43,000 by 2035, making it among the busiest corridors in the county.

An arrest warrant has been issued for Nicholas Gurule, 25, of Los Lunas, charged with aggravated assault with a firearm toward a vehicle and shooting from a vehicle. His location was unknown as of March 31, and the Los Lunas Police Department advises the public to consider him armed and dangerous. Gurule is 6 feet 4 inches tall, weighs 265 pounds, and has brown eyes and dark hair. Two other individuals connected to the incident have been arrested and charged, though their identities had not been publicly released.

Anyone who believes they have spotted Gurule should not approach him and should contact the Los Lunas Police Department immediately. Witnesses to Thursday's shooting who have not yet spoken with investigators are also urged to come forward; details such as a vehicle description, direction of travel, or the sequence of events leading up to the gunfire can assist detectives in building the case.

What is confirmed: one person was shot, three people face charges, and one suspect remains free. What police have not yet disclosed publicly includes the identity of the shooting victim, the identities of the two people already in custody, and what specific exchange between drivers preceded the gunfire.

The Valencia Y shooting did not occur in isolation. The day before, on March 26, Albuquerque police charged Cecilio Sanchez Lopez, 31, with the murder of Roman Valenciano, 19, in a separate road-rage shooting on San Mateo Boulevard NE. Those two incidents in consecutive days reflect a pattern that has made New Mexico the most dangerous state in the country for road-rage gun violence. According to Everytown for Gun Safety, New Mexico recorded a road-rage gun incident rate of 6.16 per million people in 2023, the highest of any state, with four people killed and seven wounded that year alone. Between 2014 and 2023, the state averaged 2.65 road-rage shooting incidents per million people, again the worst nationally. New Mexico's overall gun death rate grew 45 percent between 2015 and 2024, more than doubling the national increase of 18 percent, and the state now ranks fifth in the country for gun deaths.

The investigation remains active, and the Los Lunas Police Department has indicated that further developments are expected as evidence from the scene is reviewed.