Warning: Video contains some graphic content.
Newly released police body camera video from the Monday night workplace shooting at an Albuquerque warehouse show how police officers rushed in to save lives, before they even knew if the shooter was gone.
APD says 30-year-old Waid Melton shot and seriously injured three co-workers at the Ben E. Keith Warehouse around 6:15 p.m. Monday.
In 911 calls following the shooting, Melton told officers about his history of mental illness, and claimed he had been psychically or telepathically attacked by co-workers.
Officers arrived at the warehouse within minutes of the shooting, finding one man outside the building, laying on a cub with a bullet wound in his back.
A team of about a half-dozen officers were the first to enter the building. As the officers made their way inside, they encountered several employees who they weren’t sure they could trust.
“Get your ******* hands up and step outside, do not reach for anything!” one officer exclaimed toward several employees who walked out with their hands up.
The officers also had no idea if Melton was still inside.
As officers moved in, they eventually found two victims inside an office in the sprawling warehouse. A female employee was trying to save one of the men by keeping pressure on wounds to his chest.
“He left the building! He left the building!” exclaimed the woman.
“We’ve gotta drag him out,” said Sgt. Brian Pitzer of the Albuquerque Police Department.
Pitzer and another officer dragged one of the wounded men to the back door of the building, where county fire crews helped get the man to an ambulance.
In the back part of the office, a second victim was found with a gunshot wound in his neck. Officers got the man to his feet, walking him to the same back door.
After getting the victims to safety, officers methodically moved through the maze of shelves and boxes in the sprawling warehouse to make sure Melton was gone.
Police say Melton took off quickly after shooting three co-workers, but they didn’t know that at the time. A co-worker eventually alerted officers that Melton had bolted in his truck.
Police found Melton a few hours later near Placitas in his truck where the 30-year-old shot and killed himself.
The three victims are still in the hospital. Police believe one of them is Melton’s supervisor.
Related Coverage:
- APD releases 911 calls Ben E. Keith warehouse shooter made to police
- Company stopped private security services just weeks before warehouse shooting
- APD: Shooting was ‘spontaneous’ attack by disgruntled employee
- Three wounded in workplace shooting; suspect found dead
