Texas car chase ends with shooting in New Mexico

An 80-mile car chase, from Amarillo to San Jon, ended Monday morning with a 33-year-old man shot in a gunfight with police.

Mario Montes, the driver of the fleeing vehicle, was shot in the lower abdomen by a Texas Department of Public Safety trooper following the pursuit, officials said. He was shot after exiting the vehicle, running toward officers, and firing his handgun, striking an Amarillo Police Department vehicle once, according to a New Mexico State Police news release.

Montes was airlifted to an Amarillo hospital, where his condition was listed as critical but stable on Monday night.

Authorities declined to release the name of the law officer who shot Montes.

Officials said Montes and three other people were in a gray Ford SUV when an Amarillo police officer attempted to make a traffic stop about 4:30 a.m. (CDT) Monday.

Officials said the SUV refused to stop, someone inside began firing at police and a chase ensued down several city blocks and onto Interstate 40.

A helicopter and Texas troopers soon joined the chase, which reached speeds of 105 mph, law officers said.

No formal charges had been filed late Monday, but a police news release said someone inside the SUV fired at police multiple times during the pursuit.

The incident ended just west of the New Mexico / Texas state line on Interstate 40.

New Mexico State Police are investigating the incident, but were never involved in the pursuit or the shootouts, according to NMSP spokesperson Sgt. Elizabeth Armijo.

No law officers were shot during the incident and no one else in the suspect vehicle was injured, officials said.