Dave Tomlin

Ruidoso News

Ruidoso police officers fatally shot an intoxicated Brownfield, Texas, man late Thursday night in a house on Carrizo Canyon Road, after what they called a “domestic violence dispute” in which he threatened some residents with a rifle.

A state Department of Public Safety news release said officers rescued approximately 15 other people from the house before they shot David Klassen, 29, after he ignored repeated orders to drop his .308 caliber rifle.

Klassen was taken to Lincoln County Medical Center and then to the University Medical Center in El Paso, where he died of his wounds early Friday morning.

The DPS release said “at least one officer” fired at Klassen, but it said DPS would not name any of the officers involved “until interviews have been conducted.”

The incident began at about 11:30 p.m. Thursday, when police responded to a 911 call from the residence.

“Occupants in the residence recounted the male suspect . . . was intoxicated and had become violent and began threatening some residents with a rifle in his possession,” the release said.

New Mexico State Police immediately took control of the investigation as required in “officer involved” shootings. They blocked off Carrizo Canyon Road from the area of the residence about a quarter mile west of the intersection with Sudderth Drive to South Hickory Drive.

By dawn on Friday, a dozen or more law enforcement vehicles surrounded the scene, including a crime scene investigation truck and a mobile command center.

Investigators in blue evidence gloves went in and out of the building on the south side of the road with equipment and tool kits.

The DPS release said that when the State Police Investigations Bureau completes its work, the case will be referred to a District Attorney’s office for review.