ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – Police have made an arrest in a road rage incident where a mother driving her two-year-old daughter was shot at. The Albuquerque Police Department said one of its detectives saw a news story about the incident and decided to pursue it, using surveillance video and photos taken by the victim to make an arrest.


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Joseph Turner, 25, is behind bars for that road rage that ended in gunfire.

“That’s one of the things we’re really worried about. A lot of these road rage incidents are having to do with firearms and people willing to use them,” said Gilbert Gallegos, Communications Director for APD.

According to police, on October 10, a mother was driving her two-year-old on I-40 when Turner was driving in a white truck, driving aggressively, cutting people off, and pointing a gun at drivers. Turner allegedly followed the mother off the freeway onto Juan Tabo, cutting her off and nearly hitting her car.

According to the criminal complaint, he then pointed the gun at her car. “This truck, driver of the truck eventually fired shots at her which terrified her as you could imagine,” said Gallegos.

The mother ended up driving to APD’s nearby Foothills substation where surveillance video shows Turner’s white truck driving by. Video from the substation and nearby businesses helped make the arrest but APD is still looking for people involved in two other deadly road rage incidents earlier this month. One was near Rio Grande and Central while the other was on Morris and Montgomery.

“It’s hard to escape the fact that during the pandemic and since then a lot of the violent crimes involving narcotics, involving guns especially, have really just increased,” said Gallegos. “Sometimes, it can just be someone in a fit of rage driving them to this. If they have access to a firearm in the vehicle, you know, there’s a chance they might use it,”

Turner is facing charges of aggravated assault, reckless driving, and shooting at or from a motor vehicle. His pretrial detention hearing is scheduled for next week.

APD said five homicides this year have been a result of road rage. It encourages drivers to stay safe by not engaging with other drivers, staying in a public area, and keeping their eyes on the road.