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UNM police involved in fatal shooting

Officers defend themselves after being fired at by man

The UNM campus experienced its first-ever, police-involved homicide last week when a man in a wheelchair fired on UNM and Albuquerque police officers in the pay parking lot directly east of the UNM Bookstore.

The assailant, 53-year-old Harris Frangos, was shot and killed by UNMPD and APD officers. Officers opened fire on Frangos after they ordered him to drop his weapon.

“He refused to do so and then turned and fired upon my officers,” said UNMPD Commander James Daniels.

The ordeal began at about 9 p.m. when APD officers were making an unrelated arrest outside of the Frontier Restaurant, 2400 Central Ave. SE. According to police, the officers heard what sounded like a popping noise coming from the direction of the UNM parking lot across the street.

Once the officers realized the sound they were hearing was gunshots, the officers on scene called for backup and helped move patrons at the Frontier toward the back of the restaurant.

Daniels said that APD and UNMPD units arrived at the scene simultaneously.

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Daniels added that once officers arrived on scene, they were required to defend themselves after being fired upon and subsequently were forced to shoot Frangos.

“We train for this type of scenario,” Daniels said.

No one other than the assailant was injured in the exchange of gunfire.

An investigation began immediately afterward to determine the exact circumstances of what happened, including the number of rounds fired by officers and the assailant as well as what shots fired traveled in which direction. Although the crime took place on campus, and the investigation is being conducted jointly, APD forensics units have taken the lead in the case, Daniels said.

“Right now the official investigation is not complete yet,” he said.

The three UNM officers who fired upon Frangos: Nicholas Onken and David Taylor, both second-year officers, as well as six-year veteran Lt. Mike Young. They each have been placed on three-days administrative leave, which is standard in any police-involved shooting.

Daniels said the shooting was the first shooting he knew of on campus that involved police officers.

“This was the first time officers were fired upon and returned fire,” Daniels said.

The incident will be listed as an on-campus homicide when UNMPD compiles crime statistics required by federal law in 2003.

The statistics, which are required by the federal Clery Law, are compiled by all universities across the nation, and are reported to the U.S. Department of Education. The Clery Law is meant to provide violent crime figures, such as rapes, assaults and homicides, to the public.

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