N.M. Police Officer, Deputy Wounded when Suspect Fires over 100 Rounds in Shootout

A Roswell police officer was shot in the neck and a Chaves County sheriff's deputy was flown to a Texas hospital after authorities encountered "sustained automatic gunfire" from a suspect wearing a bulletproof vest.

Aug. 29, 2025

3 min read

What to know

A Roswell police officer and a Chaves County deputy were wounded by "sustained automatic gunfire" after responding to a suicidal subject.
The 29-year-old suspect wearing body armor fired over 100 rounds with an automatic rifle and other firearms before being shot and surrendering.
Explosives were recovered from the scene, and the suspect faces multiple charges including attempted murder, aggravated battery and assault on peace officers.

By Matthew Reisen

Source Albuquerque Journal, N.M.

Authorities responding to a man threatening suicide at a home in Roswell overnight Wednesday were met with "sustained automatic gunfire" that injured an officer and deputy before the suspect was shot and surrendered.

New Mexico State Police said more than 100 rounds were fired by the suspect and, at times, the gunfire was so intense that authorities had to draw fire away from others who were pinned down.

Roswell officer Conner Watkins and Chaves County deputy Lorenzo Salas were hospitalized with gunshot wounds that are not life-threatening. Court records show Watkins was shot in the neck and, in a news release, State Police said the deputy was "flown to a Texas hospital for further treatment."

The suspected shooter, 29-year-old Dakota Perkins, was shot in the hand and struck by gunfire in the bulletproof vest he was wearing. Perkins was taken to a hospital to be treated.

Perkins is charged with two counts each of attempted murder, aggravated battery and assault upon a peace officer and child abuse.

New Mexico State Police, whose officers exchanged gunfire with Perkins alongside Roswell police and Chaves County deputies, said he possessed multiple firearms — one of them an automatic rifle — and explosives.

Roswell police responded around 12:30 a.m. to the 600 block of East Sixth to reports that a man was locked in a bedroom and threatening to shoot himself, according to a statement of probable cause filed in Magistrate Court.

State Police said those officers "were met with significant and sustained automatic gunfire." Deputy Salas and officer Watkins were shot as authorities returned fire and Perkins' girlfriend and her children, 7 and 9, fled out the back when the shooting started.

The complaint states a sergeant fired at the home "attempting to have the gunman direct his attention toward him" to give Roswell police near the home "a reprieve from gunfire."

State Police said amid the shootout, a Roswell officer with a sniper rifle shot at Perkins, "which brought a lull to the gunfire." Afterward, Perkins told police he had pulled the pin on a flash grenade and authorities allowed him to throw it out of the home.

"Negotiators were able to get Perkins to put the weapons down, remove body armor, and surrender to law enforcement," State Police said in a release.

Perkins' girlfriend later told State Police that he had suicidal ideations "on two separate occasions" and said he had been drinking Wednesday night, according to the statement.

Perkins was previously arrested in 2018 after allegedly grabbing a Roswell officer's handgun during a traffic stop.

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