ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — An undercover detective was critically injured Friday after being shot by a fellow officer while conducting a narcotics operation near a busy intersection on the city's southeast side, police said.
The shooting happened just before noon as unmarked police vehicles surrounded a car in the parking lot of a fast food restaurant. Witnesses inside said they heard a series of gunshots and it was not long before dozens of officers had the area surrounded.
Police Chief Gordon Eden said preliminary information shows both officers were working undercover and were in plain clothes when the shooting happened.
He had no other details about the circumstances that led to the shooting and he did not release the names of the officers.
"There are many questions that need to be answered and right now I don't have those answers," he told reporters gathered near the scene.
Eden said the two suspects involved in the drug bust were taken into custody.
Dozens of law enforcement agents had the restaurant parking lot cordoned off with yellow tape as police cruisers surrounded the area.
Wallace Anderson, 68, of Albuquerque, was inside the restaurant having coffee with a group of people when he heard at least four gunshots.
"They told us we couldn't leave because it was a crime scene now," he said.
Friday's shooting comes less than a week after another Albuquerque officer was shot and wounded after pulling over a convicted felon on suspicion of driving drunk.
The officer injured in that case, Lou Golson, is in stable condition at a hospital and the suspect is being held on attempted murder and other charges.
Albuquerque Mayor Richard Berry called Friday's shooting a tragic incident and said it was another example of the dangers that come along with police work.
He and Eden asked residents to pray for the officers.
