On December 24, 2018, police were dispatched to the Motel 6 on Prospect NE in Albuquerque, New Mexico for reports of a man firing a rifle at people. Upon their arrival on the scene, police from both the city and state observed the subject on the balcony of his hotel room, armed with a rifle, which he was reported to have been randomly shooting at hotel guests and employees. When the subject raised his rifle to aim at nearby police officers, other officers fired upon him and he was struck several times. The subject was immediately secured and transported to the hospital where he succumbed to his wounds.
The subject was identified as Abdias Ucdiel Flores-Corado, a 35-year-old male who had been living at the Motel 6 “for months.” Unfortunately for Flores-Corado, the motel management had advised him that he would be evicted on the day of the shooting if he didn’t pay his bill. Several reports assume that his anger toward the motel management is what motivated his shooting spree.
Post even investigation revealed that Flores-Corado fired three shots from within his room, the bullets passing through walls and into other guest rooms. It’s important to note that the bullets passed through the walls which were likely of common “light weight” construction. Support structure was most likely aluminum or wood, depending on date of construction, and the sheetrock coverings certainly won’t stop bullets. There is a distinct difference between cover – things that will stop bullets – and concealment – things that only hide you from view. For safety in seeking refuge from gunfire, it’s vital to know the difference.
After firing the three shots from inside his room, Flores-Corado stepped out onto the balcony of his room (reports conflict over whether this was an actual room balcony, or just on the balcony outside the door to his room) where he fired nine more shots, all of them at motel guests and employees. There were no injuries as a result of the gunfire reported. This is another example of how poorly some bad actors can shoot. That a man with a rifle can fire at nine people, likely at ranges well under 50 yards, and not hit a single one indicates that he was either a VERY poor shooter OR he had no intent of hitting anyone. If his motivation was the latter case and all he wanted to do was scare people to somehow get back at the motel management, one also has to wonder if he anticipated or intended committing “suicide by cop.”
When police arrived on the scene and took up perimeter positions, several officers observed Flores-Corado raising his rifle to aim it at other officers. Those officers who observed the potentially-lethal threatening action opened fire on Flores-Corado who was struck several times. He and his weapon were secured and he was transported to the local hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.
According to reports, Flores-Corado was known to police. He had a long criminal history and was reportedly a member of, or affiliated with, two different gangs that operated in the area. The weapon was identified as a .22lr caliber rifle, but no manufacturer or model information was given.
While the FBI and DHS both include this event on their list of active shooter incidents for 2018, many feel it shouldn’t be included since there were no victims shot. That might make the difference between classifying this event between active shooter and active killer. Flores-Corado was definitely an active shooter. Twelve shots fired, nine of them at people and three of them with no idea of what the end target might be clearly show Flores-Corado’s lack of concern for anyone around him. However, the fact that he didn’t hit any of the targets he was reported to have shot at argues against his homicidal intent.
Some might think that if the motel management was aware of Flores-Corado’s capabilities and had intended to evict him, they should have had the police on scene already. While the police may have been familiar with Flores-Corado, there’s no way for the motel to know of his criminal background or his gang affiliations. They may have suspected, or they may have known based on his observable behavior, but certainly they don’t have access to the criminal records and histories that the law enforcement agencies do. We need to keep that in mind as we ponder the “what ifs” or “why didn’t they?”s.
This is one of those active shooter events we should appreciate simply because no one but the perpetrator was injured or killed. It’s been observed that New Mexico is a Shall Issue state for concealed carry permits and that it is legal to open carry there without a permit. More than one student of active shooter events has wondered why no armed citizen engaged the shooter. That’s one of the questions we’ll never have answers to. There may not have been any on scene. Circumstances may not have supported engagement if there were. In this case, it seems to be a moot question.
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Joshua Borelli
Joshua Borelli has been studying active shooter and mass attack events over the course of the past several years, commensurate with receiving training on response and recovery to natural disasters and civil disturbances. Joshua started to outline this series of articles in an attempt to identify commonalities and logistical needs patterns for response.