UPDATE: RR man charged with murder in Tuesday night shooting

RIO RANCHO — A Rio Rancho man is facing a murder charge after a shooting in Northern Meadows Tuesday night.

Adam Kruse, 58, was arrested for first-degree murder in the 600 block of Clayton Meadows after an adult male was found dead with a gunshot wound to the chest.

Reports of a shooting began coming in around 10 p.m., with one caller saying they heard a man taunting another to shoot him, according to the criminal complaint. A gunshot could be heard after a voice told a man to drive away. Another caller saw a man jumping a fence.

Responding officers found Kruse laying on the sidewalk near Dixon Meadows and Santa Fe Meadows drives, bleeding heavily from the head. He told police he thought he was hit by something.

Additionally, a man “beyond lifesaving measures” was found slumped over in the driver’s seat of a nearby Volkswagen with a gunshot to the chest. The driver’s window was shattered with multiple impact marks consistent with buckshot ammunition from a shotgun. The investigation indicates the shot came from Kruse’s house through the open passenger window. A shotgun shell was also found at the scene. Police later found a shotgun in plain view in Kruse’s house.

One of the callers, a neighbor behind Kruse’s house, told police they were on the phone when they heard a loud bang, prompting them to call 911 after “an eerie sense of silence.” They said they saw a man jump into Kruse’s backyard, attempt to open the sliding glass door and jump back over the fence.

Kruse declined to talk to police and asked for his attorney. If convicted, he faces life in prison, which equates to 30 years. RRPD said there are no other suspects in the case.