Albuquerque Police Department officials report 63 homicide incidents in calendar year 2025, with a total of 65 people killed.
That total is down by more than one-third from 2024, when 98 people were killed in the city.
Police say 87%, or 55 of 63, of 2025 homicide cases have been solved, along with 25 cases from previous years (eight from 2024). The solve rate is the Police Department’s highest in a decade, APD Spokesperson Gilbert Gallegos told City Desk ABQ
A homicide is considered “solved” when a suspect is charged, arrested, or is deceased, Gallegos said.
Each case involved a single victim except for a May 24 incident in which local attorney Andrew Bockemeier killed his parents and brother. Bockemeier later drove to the office of the State Bar of New Mexico and fatally shot himself.
The year has seen 122 individuals charged with murder: 76 in 2025 slayings and 46 in cases from previous years.
May, June and August were the deadliest months in the city, with eight homicides reported in each. Three people were slain in four days between Aug. 9 and Aug. 12.
The Police Department reported solving all eight of the homicides that occurred in June.
Ten cases are being investigated as justifiable homicides, according to police reports.
Firearms were the weapon used in 46 of the homicides, almost 70%. The number of fatal shootings in 2024 was 79, according to department records.
Lethal cutting weapons (nine) and blunt force/blunt object (seven) were also identified in multiple slayings.
Three more homicides were committed by vehicle, strangulation and shaking a baby. Police say the perpetrator of one homicide used an unknown weapon.
Police list “individual disrespect” as the motivation in 27 homicides, with others cited multiple times, including domestic violence, child abuse and robbery.
Three killings were listed as “mental health related,” two as violence against the homeless, one as “retaliation or revenge,” and one as road rage.
While the city reported 12 gang-related homicides in 2024, none of last year’s killings were identified thusly.
