Teresa Gomez, 45, was fatally shot in Las Cruces, New Mexico, in the early morning of October 3, 2023. Body camera footage shows Officer Felipe Hernandez on bicycle patrol approach Gomez while she sat in a parked car with a male companion at a public housing complex. Court testimony described Hernandez’s tone as aggressive and threatening. After an exchange, Gomez got back into the vehicle; as she began to back out the open driver’s side door struck Hernandez and he fired three times, one bullet striking her lung and killing her.

Hernandez was charged in January 2024 with second-degree murder and was fired from the Las Cruces Police Department in May 2024. The city reached a $20 million settlement with Gomez’s estate in November 2024. At trial prosecutors said the shooting was unjustified and defense attorneys argued self-defense; on October 30, 2025, a jury acquitted Hernandez of second-degree murder but convicted him of voluntary manslaughter and he was taken into custody after the verdict.

Are there witnesses or neighbors who recall the encounter that morning and can add details about what happened at the housing complex?