© Fight For Our Lives/Social Media via REUTERS
Attendees help a man who was shot and wounded during clashes between protesters trying to pull down a statue of Juan de Onate and armed members of civilian militia group New Mexico Civil Guard in downtown Albuquerque, New Mexico, U.S. June 15, 2020, in this still image obtained from a social media video.
Attendees help a man who was shot and wounded during clashes between protesters trying to pull down a statue of Juan de Onate and armed members of civilian militia group New Mexico Civil Guard in downtown Albuquerque, New Mexico, U.S. June 15, 2020, in this still image obtained from a social media video.
Torrez dropped an initial aggravated battery with a deadly weapon charge against Steven Baca, 31, after images emerged online showing protester Scott Williams, 39, holding what was rumored to be a knife before he was allegedly shot by Baca. Torrez said he expected Baca to claim self defense in the case.
"There have been rumors on social media about what transpired in the final seconds before this and we are actively looking into those and whether or not this was justified," Torrez told an online press briefing. "The reason he is not facing that charge right now is because this investigation is not complete."
Comment: Judging from the video circulating online (now difficult to find), Baca was pretty clearly trying to flee the scene and was being ganged up on when he fired the shots. And at one point, he was pretty clearly hit with a skateboard. It would be difficult to argue he was the attacker at that point, regardless of what he did beforehand.