By Jeff Proctor
The Albuquerque Journal (New Mexico)
ALBUQUERQUE — Fernando Ramirez, suspected in a fatal shooting at an Isleta casino, killed himself Wednesday night after State Police tracked him to a Valencia County residence and chased him on foot.
Ramirez, 18, had been on the lam for less than a day when he shot himself fatally in the head, police said.
Police had been seeking Ramirez, who was charged with an open count of murder and attempted murder in connection with a fatal shooting at Isleta Casino and Resort late Tuesday that left a man dead and a woman critically injured, State Police spokesman Peter Olson said.
Police found Ramirez’s vehicle abandoned in the El Cerro Mission area of Valencia County early Wednesday, Olson said.
The shooting took place around 11:30 p.m. in the casino’s northwest parking lot, authorities said.
Ramirez had been romantically involved with the female victim in the past, Olson said. The two had a child together.
Ramirez saw the woman in a car with the male victim on N.M. 47 in southern Bernalillo County on Tuesday night, then fired shots at the two, Olson said.
“He chased them down, then (allegedly shot) the male in the casino parking lot,” he said.
The man died early Wednesday at University of New Mexico Hospital, he said. The woman, who was shot in the face, was in critical condition at UNMH on Wednesday afternoon.
Journal staff writer Hailey Heinz contributed to this report.
Copyright 2008 The Albuquerque Journal (New Mexico)