[1]ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (BP)–A teenager shot by police Sept. 4 inside the foyer of an Albuquerque church died from his wounds Sept 5.
Albuquerque police said Dominic Montoya, 14, of Albuquerque was shot when he pointed a handgun at the officers. The incident occurred at the Taylor Ranch Baptist Church in the northwestern part of the city.
The teen was shot in the church foyer and was taken to the University of New Mexico Hospital. He died in the hospital Thursday.
Albuquerque police officers were called to the church after someone in the church reported seeing a man with a gun. Choir rehearsal had just ended and a small group of young adults were talking when the 14-year-old boy wandered into the church.
“He was shaken when he came in,” said Timothy Marrow, pastor of Taylor Ranch and a trustee of LifeWay Christian Resources of the SBC. “When he raised his shirt one of the church members saw that he was carrying a gun.”
The church member slipped away to call the police while other church members counseled the teen.
[2]“They gave him a Bible and tried to minister to him,” Marrow said. “The boy said something about being demon-possessed.”
When the police arrived, the teenager went into the foyer where he was told to drop his weapon.
The teen reportedly pointed the gun at a responding officer, who shot him twice in the side.
Police are investigating the incident.
Marrow said he doesn’t know why the young man came to the church.
“That’s a mystery,” he said. “He wasn’t a member of the church and no one recalled seeing him around.”
No church members were injured in the incident.
–30–