Cops: Mom shot son in self-defense

Posted: July 15, 2008 01:25 AM

Updated: July 15, 2008 08:29 AM

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - A 42-year-old man smashed in the front door of his mother's home Monday evening and was met by a bullet from her .38 caliber pistol, Albuquerque police reported.

The son was hit once in the chest and is listed in critical condition at University of New Mexico Hospital. The mother, who is 61, was not arrested because police said the shooting was an apparent case of self-defense.

The shooting at 11516 Freeway Place NE happened during the dinner hour. Neighbors said they immediately knew something was wrong.

"I was sitting inside, and I heard some gunshots, what I thought were gunshots, but I've been hearing a lot of bottle rockets, everything else," neighbor Robert Milligan told KRQE news 13. "I came running out; I see the police hauling butt."

Police told News 13 the son went to his mother's home on Monday to retrieve some papers. When she refused to let him in he lost control and broke down the front door, according to police.

The mother told police that's when she fired her .38 caliber handgun. Police on the scene couldn't recall any recent domestic violence calls at the home.

Neither the mother's nor her son's names have been released.