Weapon in carjacking looked like machine gun

SANTA FE (KRQE) - Police said a man gave up his car after coming face-to-face with what appeared to be an assault rifle.

But when officers caught up with the suspect he quickly told them the weapon was far from dangerous.

Arturo Lujan, 33, is charged with armed robbery after police said he held a man at gun point demanding his car Thursday morning. The victim told police he thought the weapon was a machine gun.

Officers spotted the stolen car in the same area where it was taken. They said the driver was Lujan.

Police dash-camera video showed officers instructing Lujan to get out of the car with this hands up. Lujan seemed puzzled and said, “I don’t know what’s going on.”

When officers told him the car was stolen Lujan said he was just giving a girl a ride home. That’s when they asked about the gun.

With real guns drawn on Lujan, he responds, “ There’s a BB gun in there, sir."

“Any person that saw that weapon, in my opinion, even law enforcement, would assume that it was a real rifle,” Santa Fe Police Department Capt. Aric Wheeler said.

Wheeler said police are now investigating if Lujan flashed the same BB gun before the car was stolen during an armed robbery at a nearby Allsup’s.

“A similar type weapon was described in that incident,” Wheeler said.

Wheeler said police also found liquor bottles in the car that they will now compare with liquor that was reported stolen from the convenience store.

Lujan was also charged with DWI.

A woman who was with Lujan when he was arrested will not be facing charges. Police said the woman did not know the car was stolen.