ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – “If you see someone breaking into your car, call the police. Don’t try and confront them, even if you are armed yourself,” said Albuquerque Police Department Chief Harold Medina. 

That is the warning from Medina after the suspects in Sunday night’s violent Walgreens robbery were trying to get away. 

APD says they were trying to break into cars.

“One individual tried the door and the other was standing guard with a rifle in case someone tried to approach them,” said Medina. 

If that situation sounds familiar, it’s because KOB 4 has covered similar cases. In December 2024, we told you about this group of teens in Rio Rancho violently breaking into a car with a bat, while one of them posts up with a gun pointed straight at a home in the Rivers Edge II neighborhood. 

We spoke with the homeowner shortly after:

“I was thankful that my husband didn’t run out immediately and get hurt by them because I have never seen anything like this happen in Rio Rancho,” said Sandra Kelly.

Last summer, a man was shot dead after interrupting an attempted burglary as he exited his home near Menaul and Carlisle.

“I think people are tired. They are tired of hearing about it day in and day out,” said Dan Champine an Albuquerque City Councilor. 

Champine whose district covers part of the area where last night’s crime spree took place points to staffing shortages at APD, long response times for police, and at times even longer wait times if you call 911.

“The lack of police officers, field officers and patrol units in the streets are empowering the criminal elements of the city to take advantage of it,” Champine said. 

He worries that despite the chief’s warning, people will have no choice but to confront criminals.

“I fear that citizens are going to get frustrated and take the law in to their own hands and defend their property where they see fit,” said Champine. 

Champine is a former APD officer himself and says he doesn’t blame the patrol officers but rather those in charge, like the mayor and police chief, need to find solutions.