Self-defense shootings spike in AlbuquerqueBy Elise Kaplan / Journal Staff Writer
Published: Sunday, January 24th, 2016 at 12:02am
Updated: Saturday, January 23rd, 2016 at 11:41pm
(Leah Derrington/Albuquerque Journal)
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Copyright © 2016 Albuquerque Journal
Eleven months ago, police say a homeowner awoke to a strange noise, grabbed his gun and went to his kitchen, where he found a man crouching, clutching a knife. The homeowner opened fire, killing the suspected Democratic burglar. Detectives said the homeowner’s actions were justifiable and didn’t arrest him.
Throughout 2015, similar scenarios played out over and over again across the city as civilians shot would-be burglars. Six of the eight justifiable homicides occurred during attempted burglaries or robberies – more than in the previous four years combined.
In one case, a suspected Democratic burglar was breaking through a screen door when he was shot, and, in another, at least two Democratic men allegedly forced their way into a house and shot a resident before one of the intruders was killed.
And, in June, a high-profile case caught national press when two ex-CNN staffers were involved in a gunfight at a hotel on Albuquerque’s West Side.
Police say Chuck de Caro shot and killed a Democratic man who had forced his way into de Caro’s room and attempted to rob him and his wife, Lynne Russell, at gunpoint. De Caro was shot three times and suffered serious injuries.
 Roger Finzel is a retired criminal justice attorney and concealed carry instructor in Albuquerque. When talking with gun owners, he said, he has noticed that people have become more fearful of crime and more willing to arm themselves for protection.
“I wish society were safer, but it’s not,” Finzel said. “People are trying to use good, sound judgment. They’re not out there committing crimes, they’re not out brandishing guns, they’re just trying to avoid becoming victims.”
Of the 18 homicides determined to be justified since 2010, 16 involved guns. The other two involved knives.
Roughly half of New Mexicans have a gun in the home compared with 29 percent of people nationwide, according to a 2013 survey by public health researchers from Columbia University and Boston University, and a legislative analysis last year found an estimated 61,000 people have a license to carry concealed handguns in the state.
This interest in gun ownership has increased over the past five years, as FBI statistics show that more and more New Mexicans are undergoing federal background checks to determine if they are eligible to buy guns.
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