UPDATE 5:51 p.m.:
Albuquerque police are searching for 21-year-old Daniel Cesar Dominguez-Garcia who fled UNM Hospital after he allegedly fired a gunshot inside the pediatric ward Tuesday evening.
Dominguez-Garcia was at the hospital to visit his girlfriend and their newborn when the couple got into an argument, a witness said.
Dominguez-Garcia then got into a physical altercation with his girlfriend and fired a shot from a 9mm Smith and Wesson into the ceiling on the hospital’s sixth floor, APD Chief Ray Schultz said.
Edger Dominguez, the suspect’s brother, said the fight escalated quickly.
“My brother and his girlfriend are fighting; he has a new girl in his life,” Dominguez said. “He came to see her and his baby at the hospital. They got to fighting, really just got into it, and I guess he shot the gun into the air.”
APD said no one was injured.
Police helicopters circled campus searching for the loose gunman, and officers searched for Dominguez-Garcia inside and outside the hospital.
Dominguez-Garcia is bald and was last seen wearing a white shirt, white shoes and black pants, according to hospital surveillance.
Streets surrounding the hospital were shut down and LoboAlerts sent out an initial warning at 3:48pm, informing the UNM community about the potential danger.
An updated version was sent out at 4:17pm, and the lockdown was lifted at 4:34 p.m.
Student Daniel Spross said he was alerted to the situation when he tried to walk through UNMH around 4 p.m.
“I normally walk through the hospital from my car but they had it closed. They said to walk all the way around it,” he said. “Q lot was blocked off and officers were asking for IDs because I guess they didn’t know where he was.”
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Student Zack Gold said he heard the gunshot while he was in the UNMPD office.
“I could hear the information coming through on the cop’s radio,” he said. “They said it was in the pediatric ward, and then I heard it was someone that was a patient himself and that I guess some people last saw him coming out into the parking structure.”
UPDATE: A University alert sent out at 4:34 p.m. declared an all-clear and thanked UNM community members for their cooperation.
UNMH and parts of north and central campus were locked down Tuesday afternoon to safeguard against an active-shooter situation, according to a message sent out by the University.
Shortly after 3:50 p.m., UNM sent out notices on its UNMAlerts system notifying students, faculty and staff of the potential danger. Early reports indicate that a male suspect is allegedly roaming the UNMH area with a silver handgun.
Stay tuned to DailyLobo.com for emerging details.
