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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — An Albuquerque police officer shot and killed a woman on Zuni SE near Wyoming this morning, according to Albuquerque Police Chief Gorden Eden.

Eden said an officer was running after an auto theft suspect when the suspect pointed a gun at the officer.

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“An officer pursued on foot when the suspect stopped, turned and pointed a handgun at close range,” Eden said.

Neither the suspect nor the officer has been identified. The officer was placed on standard leave after incident.

Alberto Lopez, who was staying at the Nendels Valu Inn, a nearby motel, said he heard about three shots around 5 a.m. and went outside and saw the body lying on the sidewalk.

Maria Martinez, who lives in a mobile home just south of the shooting site, said through an interpreter that she heard about four shots from the same gun about 5:45 a.m. She knew the shots came from the same gun because there are often shootings near her home, she said.

When Martinez went to her window, she said police, had already arrived and she never saw the person who was shot.

A yellow sheet covered the body on the sidewalk on the south side of Zuni near Wyoming.

Two APD mobile substations are parked on Zuni just east of Wyoming, and crime scene tape blocks the road for several blocks east of that intersection.

Deputy Chief Robert Huntsman and Deputy City Attorney Kathy Levy were at the scene, along with Chief Eden.

This morning’s shooting is the third fatal APD shooting in five weeks. On March 16, APD shot and killed James Boyd, a mentally ill homeless man, in the Sandia foothills. The shooting sparked local and national outrage and led to a series of protests against APD. On March 25, APD shot and killed Alfred Redwine near Coors and Central. APD has fatally shot 24 people since 2010.

On April 10, the Department of Justice announced the results on a 16-month investigation into APD that found that the department has a pattern and practice of violating the constitutional rights of citizens through the use of excessive and deadly force.

— This is a developing story. Additional information will be added as it becomes available.