APD: Mom’s 988 call may have stopped a mass shooting in Albuquerque

Albuquerque police officers say a January call to the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline may have prevented a violent attack at a local medical facility.

According to APD, a mother contacted 988 on January 5, reporting that her son — Evan Michael Williamson — was armed, making threats, and heading toward the facility where he was receiving treatment for multiple conditions, including PTSD. She told call‑takers that Williamson believed the facility was harming patients and had said “something needed to be done.”

The hotline alerted APD, and officers were sent to locate him.

Officer Adrian Montoya spotted Williamson on Paradise Blvd. on a motorcycle. As Montoya followed him, he says Williamson began weaving through side streets, trying to get away from him.

“I didn’t have any other officers with me, so I didn’t want to engage him. It would have been an unsafe situation,” says Officer Montoya. “Once the stops initiated, you don’t know which direction he’s going to want to take this. It might turn into a negotiation. It might turn into something worse.”

Read more: KOB4 (Albuquerque, NM)