A potentially violent incident near a Walmart Supercenter was de-escalated by Las Cruces police officers on Wednesday morning.
Shortly after 9 a.m. Wednesday, May 5, Las Cruces police were dispatched to the report of a man with a long gun walking near a daycare center on Divot Avenue. As police converged on the area, officers learned the subject was possibly headed east toward the Walmart Supercenter that’s one block away at 571 Walton Blvd.
On the southeast corner of the Walmart property, near Triviz Drive, Las Cruces police officers located the man who was armed with a 9mm handgun. Police approached and ordered him to drop the weapon, which he did. At about 9:30 a.m. the 20-year-old man was taken into custody without further incident.
Police learned the man suffers from a mental and delusional disorder. The man told police he was armed because he thought people were following him, and that he wanted to shoot it out with them. The firearm he had at the time of arrest was identified as a 9mm handgun with an extended magazine. Inside the man’s vehicle, parked on the east side of Walmart, police located a .22 caliber rifle. Both weapons were secured and ultimately returned to his relatives.
No victims came forward to claim that a crime had been committed, so the man faces no charges at this time. The man was taken into protective custody and transported to a local hospital for evaluation.
Because no charges were filed, his name will not be disclosed by police.