A two-day manhunt for the suspect in the fatal shooting of New Mexico State Police Officer Justin Hare has come to an end with the capture of 32-year-old Jaremy Smith following an officer-involved shooting with the Bernalillo County Sheriff's Office. The tragic incident occurred on Friday morning when Officer Hare responded to a call of a driver with a flat tire on Interstate 40 near Tucumcari. Without warning, Smith shot Hare, pushed him into the passenger seat of his patrol vehicle, and drove off, eventually abandoning the car on a frontage road. Hare was found wounded and later succumbed to his injuries at a local hospital. Smith, a South Carolina native with a criminal history, is also a person of interest in the murder of paramedic Phenesia Machado-Fore, whose car he was driving at the time of the shooting. Authorities have issued an arrest warrant for Smith on charges including first-degree murder, armed robbery, and unlawful taking of a motor vehicle. The incident has left the law enforcement community in mourning, with Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham extending her condolences to Officer Hare's family, friends, and colleagues during this difficult time.
themes: Shooting Mexico South Carolina New Mexico