Dad fatally shoots man he says ‘broke open’ the door as kids slept, New Mexico cops say
A New Mexico father fatally shot a man he says broke into his home and wouldn’t leave after repeated requests, according to police.
The shooting happened the night of Dec. 14 in the kitchen of the La Luz home, near the bedrooms of the father’s three young kids, New Mexico State Police said.
According to an initial investigation, Lucas Eli Moore, 45, also of La Luz, started “banging on the door” of the home, police said in a Dec. 18 post on Facebook.
Moore then “broke open the door” and went inside, police said, and the father “repeatedly told Moore to leave.”
“Moore proceeded to the kitchen, which was directly down the hall from the children’s bedrooms where they were sleeping,” police said.
“After repeated attempts to get Moore to leave, Moore attempted to strike the homeowner. The homeowner fired at least one round from his handgun striking Moore, who fell to the floor in the kitchen,” according to police.
The father called 911, and Moore was pronounced dead in the kitchen, police said.
The 39-year-old father, his wife and their three kids weren’t hurt, according to police.
The children were asleep and didn’t see the shooting, police said.
The New Mexico State Police Investigations Bureau is investigating, according to state police, and “at this time, no charges have been filed” against the father, police said. The father’s name wasn’t released.
The district attorney will review the case when the investigation is done, police said.
La Luz is about a 200-mile drive southeast from Albuquerque.
This story was originally published December 19, 2024 at 3:31 PM with the headline "Dad fatally shoots man he says ‘broke open’ the door as kids slept, New Mexico cops say."
.JPG)