ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — The homes or offices of five elected Democratic officials in New Mexico, including the new attorney general, have been hit by gunfire over the past month, and authorities are working to determine if the attacks are connected.
Nobody was injured in the shootings, which are being investigated by local and federal authorities, said Albuquerque Police Chief Harold Medina. He called the investigation a top priority.
Police initially reported four shooting incidents but then disclosed late Thursday that a shooting at the former campaign office of newly elected New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez is being reexamined.
The attacks come amid a sharp rise in threats to members of Congress and two years after supporters of then-President Donald Trump attacked the U.S. Capitol and sent lawmakers running for their lives. Local school board members and election workers across the country have also endured harassment, intimidation and threats of violence.
In New Mexico, the attacks began on Dec. 4, when someone shot eight rounds at the Albuquerque home of Bernalillo County Commissioner Adriann Barboa, police said. Seven days later, someone fired more than a dozen times at the Albuquerque house of then-Bernalillo Commissioner Debbie O’Malley.
ShotSpotter technology detected several gunshots in the area of Torrez’s former office on Dec. 10, police spokesman Gilbert Gallegos said. But he said the attorney general and his staff had already moved out following his November election.
Just this week, on Tuesday night and Thursday morning, respectively, multiple shots were fired at the home of state Sen. Linda Lopez and the office of state Sen. Moe Maestas.
