Albuquerque, NM (KKOB) — The Albuquerque Police Department released details of an officer-involved shooting that took place on Feb. 1, 2024 at an apartment complex located at 4816 McMahon Blvd., N.W. Two officers fired shots at a man, but he was not struck. Moments later, he died as a result of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Prior Law Enforcement Contacts
Prior to the shooting on Feb. 1, several law enforcement agencies, including APD, had encounters with Matthias Wynkoop, 40, while he experienced mental health crises. In October 2023, Wynkoop led police through the city as he threatened suicide while he was driving a vehicle. He was eventually located by New Mexico State Police officers east of Albuquerque and taken to the hospital for suicidal thoughts and actions. State Police petitioned the courts to remove all firearms from Wynkoop under the Extreme Risk Firearm Protection Order, which is commonly known as the “Red Flag Law.” The order was issued on Nov. 11, 2023 and he was prohibited from possessing, purchasing, receiving, or having a firearm under his custody or control for one year.
Summary of Incident
Call to BCSO at 1:30 p.m.
On Feb. 1, 2024, Wynkoop called Bernalillo County 911 and reported he was having suicidal thoughts. Wynkoop said he was driving on 2nd Street, but did not provide specific details about his location so help could be sent to him.
Call to APD at 2:39 p.m.
Wynkoop later called 911 from his apartment complex in Northwest Albuquerque. That call was routed to APD’s Emergency Communications Center. Wynkoop told the call-taker that he was having suicidal thoughts and he was drinking alcohol. He said he had firearms inside his apartment. He also said he wanted help, but officers had shot him in the past and he was afraid they would shoot him again.
As the call-taker was attempting to transfer Wynkoop to AFR, Wynkoop stated that if police officers showed up he would shoot them through the door. After he made that threat, the call-taker kept the call with APD and dispatched officers to the apartment complex.
Officers started to arrive at the apartment complex, located at 4816 McMahon Blvd., N.W., at 3:10 p.m. As they arrived, APD’s Real Time Crime Center alerted officers to Wynkoop’s past interactions with police, including another incident at the apartment in 2023 where he was walking around the complex while brandishing a firearm and pointing it at his head. Officers were able to convince Wynkoop to drop the gun during that incident.
During the Feb. 1, 2024 incident, Wynkoop hung up with the 911 call-taker and later communicated over the phone with an APD sergeant who was at the apartment complex. The sergeant spoke with Wynkoop for about 20 minutes, trying to de-escalate the situation. Wynkoop told the sergeant he had a rifle and a handgun. At one point he got out of his pickup truck and got back inside.
At the same time, other officers were trying to get residents to stay away from the area. At 3:42 p.m., officers reported that Wynkoop had the door to his pickup open, he reversed the truck, then turned the ignition off. One officer fired a shot from his rifle toward Wynkoop, and a second officer fired his handgun. Although one officer thought he struck Wynkoop, the investigation later determined the shot struck the window in the truck.
One officer later told detectives that he saw Wynkoop aim his firearm at him with his right arm extended, so the officer fired from his rifle. The second officer said he heard what he thought were simultaneous shots, and he fired his handgun to stop Wynkoop’s actions from killing or hurting other officers.
After officers fired shots, they adjusted their positions and anticipated that Wynkoop would likely try to drive toward their location in an attempt to flee in his truck.
About a minute later, a gunshot can be heard from the area of the truck. Officers heard the engine rev and the truck quickly accelerated eastbound through the parking lot and crashed into a wall.
After ensuring Wynkoop was no longer a danger, officers approached the truck and attempted to provide first aid. Wynkoop was determined by medical personnel to be deceased.
An autopsy performed the next day determined Wynkoop died as a result of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to his head. While two officers fired their weapons, the autopsy did not reveal any other bullet wounds.
A handgun and a rifle were recovered from the truck after the shooting. The serial number from the rifle was missing and detectives are still trying to determine where Wynkoop got the gun. Detectives learned that Wynkoop purchased the handgun from a former co-worker. The previous owner of the gun admitted he sold the gun without a background check. That man was issued a summons for unlawful sale of a firearm.
Over the next several months, APD will continue to investigate and analyze this incident. Detectives will continue interviewing any new witnesses that come forward and complete any forensic tests. The Multi-Agency Task Force will forward its case to the District Attorney’s Office to make any determination of criminal charges.
SUBJECT: Matthias Wynkoop, 40
INVOLVED OFFICERS: Officer Jacob Osborne, who has been with the department since 2020, has not been involved in prior officer-involved shootings.
Officer James Sullivan, who has been with the department since 2011, was involved in one prior officer-involved shooting in 2019.
