ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO, USA – JULY 4, 2025 Police were called to a home in the 2100 block of South Branch Drive SW. The caller was 21-year-old Jerry Baldonado, who asked for help due to a family dispute. He claimed that his brother was aggressive and had even threatened him with a gun the day before.
When Officer Dominic Sanchez arrived and announced multiple times that police were on the scene, the suspect opened the front door and stepped outside holding what appeared to be a firearm. He even pointed it at the officer. Sanchez assessed the situation as a direct threat and fired three shots at the suspect, hitting him in the leg, arm, and abdomen.
It was later discovered that the weapon was not real – it was just an airsoft gun. The suspect’s wife tried to alert the officers by shouting from a window that the gun was fake, but her warnings were not heard.
Further investigation revealed that the emergency call itself was a hoax. The caller and the suspect were the same person – Jerry Baldonado – who had previously misused emergency services. In the past, he had falsely claimed he had been shot, among other fake reports.
