Police crime scene tape is seen near a fatal shooting at a home in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on Thursday, Feb. 23, 2023. Authorities say multiple people were wounded. (AP Photo/Susan Montoya Bryan)
Two of three people killed on Thursday in New Mexico have been identified as homicide investigators pieced together how it all went down, according to the Albuquerque Police Department.
Danay Morales-Hernandez, 36, and Omar Rodriguez-Hechemendia, 25, were confirmed dead, police said in a news release.
Two of the victims were stabbed multiple times, police said. An unidentified man died from a gunshot wound. The third person will be identified when family members are notified, police said.
Morales-Hernandez was found dead inside a residence on Griegos Road, N.W. Rodriguez-Hechemendia was found alive with life-threatening injuries in front of the house. He died at a hospital.
Police received reports about a person lying in the street during the mid-morning hours Thursday, said police spokesman Gilbert Gallegos, according to local affiliate CBS/Fox affiliate KQRE.
Rodriguez-Hechemendia was first found by an off-duty New Mexico State Parks ranger, Gallegos said. After establishing a perimeter around the house, two others were found dead, and a fourth person was found locked in a bathroom. Police said they found a gun inside the house.
The Associated Press reported that a trail of blood led from Rodriguez-Hechemendia’s body into the home down the road from a library.
Initial reports said that both people inside the house died from possible gunfire after neighbors reported hearing gunshots, police said.
But autopsies confirmed both Morales-Hernandez and Rodriguez-Hechemendia died from stab wounds.
The fourth person was later determined to be a 2-year-old girl who was placed in the custody of child welfare, according to KQRE.
It wasn’t clear how the girl was related to the victims.
Police said no suspect is being sought, suggesting a possible double murder-suicide.
Gallegos also said he sought clear guidance from the coroner’s office before releasing additional information about the relationship among the victims.
No motive was released.
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