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A 57-year-old man is behind bars after allegedly opening fire on several law enforcement officers Tuesday morning near the train tracks in Bernalillo.

Paul Mendez is charged with five counts of aggravated assault against a peace officer, three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, two counts of unlawful carrying of a deadly weapon, receiving a stolen firearm and shooting at a motor vehicle.

An attorney for Mendez could not be reached Wednesday afternoon.

Nobody was injured in the incident, in which Mendez allegedly fired into an occupied vehicle before shooting at responding law enforcement. The shootings and subsequent investigation led Bernalillo Public Schools to cancel all classes and the Rail Runner to suspend service for the day.

It is unclear how many Bernalillo police officers and Sandoval County deputies were involved in the incident or how many fired their weapons.

The Bernalillo Police Department could not be reached Wednesday. The Sandoval County Sheriff鈥檚 Office did not respond to a request for comment.

Prosecutors on Wednesday filed a motion to keep Mendez behind bars until trial, saying the danger he presents to the community 鈥渋s substantial.鈥�

鈥淒efendant discharged his firearm in two separate occasions, first at civilians sitting in their vehicle 鈥� and secondly at five different officers,鈥� according to the motion.  

Mendez, who lists a home address in Northwest sa国际传媒官网网页入口, has not been charged with a crime since 2023, when he was allegedly caught trying to break into a home and told responding deputies of 鈥渄emons around the area.鈥�

Mendez was found incompetent to stand trial and the case was dismissed. 

Tuesday鈥檚 incident began around 4:30 a.m. when someone called 911 to report that a man had fired at their vehicle, which was parked near U.S. 550 and Rail Runner Avenue, according to a statement of probable cause filed in Magistrate Court. Bernalillo police spotted a man in a reflective vest running from them toward a dirt area between a Denny鈥檚 and the railroad tracks.

Police said officers and Sandoval County deputies were following the suspect toward Bernalillo High School when he turned and began shooting as law enforcement 鈥渢ook cover behind dirt mounds and returned fire.鈥�

Authorities retreated to request backup and cordoned off an area to search for the shooter, who they believed was behind Bernalillo High, according to the statement. A 911 call came in from a man who said someone was knocking on his door in the 200 block of Leyba, just north of the high school.

Police said they went to the home and found Mendez with two handguns, one of them having been reported stolen out of sa国际传媒官网网页入口. Law enforcement found surveillance footage of Mendez meandering about the Sandoval County/U.S. 550 Rail Runner station for several hours before approaching and firing into a parked vehicle.

The three people inside the vehicle later told authorities they were in fear for their lives and police found a bullet hole in the driver鈥檚 side door and a broken window.

The video showed Mendez being chased into a field by authorities before turning and firing 鈥渋n the direct direction of five officers/deputies,鈥� according to the statement. 

Police said Mendez had ammunition on him matching bullet casings from the scene of the shooting and his shoes matched a print found in the area.