ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – An Albuquerque man is afraid to drive in his own downtown neighborhood after a terrifying encounter with a complete stranger. That stranger pulled out a gun and pointed it right at him and the man thought his life was over.
“I’m thinking two things are happening: either this guy is going to shoot me or he’s going to take my car,” said the man who had the gun pointed at him. “I had no doubt in my mind that those two things were going to happen.”
The man didn’t want to be identified for KRQE News 13’s story. He said he was turning onto 11th and Silver, just blocks away from his home, and saw someone speeding toward him in the wrong lane. He said they both stopped, and the other driver got out of his car and made his way toward him with a gun.
“I don’t know if I should roll down my window… basically what I did was put my hands up, shook my head, wanting to let whatever play out, play out without you know, being killed at that point,” said the man.
He said the other driver didn’t say a word. He just stared him down then made his way back to his car with the gun still pointing at him. The man said that’s when he started to slowly reverse his car and they both went their separate ways.
The man said he called the police once he got away from the other driver. They responded within a couple of minutes and filed a police report. He said the whole situation was completely random and does not believe it was road rage.
This isn’t the first time a resident from that downtown Albuquerque neighborhood has had a close call with gun violence. Last month, a Lyft driver was shot at just blocks away at Silver and 14th. It’s unclear if these incidents are related.