New Mexico’s Route 66 Casino Region Is Site of Another Shooting, Feds Involved

One person was wounded after a gun was fired during an incident near New Mexico’s Route 66 Casino Hotel on Tuesday. The FBI is investigating.

New Mexico’s Route 66 Casino Hotel
New Mexico’s Route 66 Casino Hotel
New Mexico’s Route 66 Casino Hotel, pictured above. Near the gaming property, a person was shot on Tuesday. (Image: Visit Albuquerque)

It was revealed that an agent from the federal Homeland Security Investigations agency was somehow involved in the 12:30 pm incident, reported KRQE, a local TV station.

No agents were injured, and one subject was wounded,” New Mexico FBI spokesman Frank Fisher told the Albuquerque Journal, a local newspaper. “Because this is an ongoing investigation, no further information can be provided at this time.”

The condition of the unnamed wounded person was not immediately known. Nor was it clear what led to the shooting. It was unclear, too, if the casino played a role in the incident.

The casino is operated by the Pueblo of Laguna tribe. Tribal police and New Mexico State Police reportedly were at the crime scene Tuesday. The location was surrounded by police tape, KRQE said.

Deadly Fight

In an earlier incident, on Feb. 27, a 63-year-old man died near the Route 66 Casino Hotel. The victim, identified by deputies as Larry Martinez, passed away after a fight turned violent, according to the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office.

The sheriff’s office issued an initial statement that the “cause of death is unknown at this time.” It is likely that an autopsy was to be performed.

The situation began when someone notified the sheriff’s office that “several subjects” were “drinking alcohol, firing guns, and acting belligerent,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement. The activity soon escalated to a physical fight, the statement adds.

It appears the altercation was taking place outside in the Southwest Mesa area of Albuquerque. But details on the location were not released by the sheriff’s office.

Prior Crime Near Casino

Last September, a suspect shot and killed a man east of Route 66 Casino Hotel. The victim was believed to be in his early 20s.

The victim was shot several times. He died at the crime scene from the wounds. The incident apparently began as a kidnapping, according to KOB, a local TV station. It started off after a suspect abducted a woman and man — who turned out to be her brother, KOB said. The two victims were transported, apparently against their will, to the location near the casino. It appears no arrests have been made in the case.

In another September incident, a fatal motor vehicle accident took place near the Route 66 Casino. It appears a single car rolled over on a New Mexico highway, KRQE reported.

No other vehicles were involved. The accident forced the closure of all eastbound lanes of Interstate 40 for several hours.

The sheriff’s office later revealed a woman driver died from injuries suffered in the accident. Two juvenile passengers were injured. They were taken to the University of New Mexico Hospital in Albuquerque for treatment, KRQE said.

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