Manhunt Underway for Jaremy Smith After NM State Police Officer Fatally Shot

A manhunt is underway following the Friday morning shooting death of New Mexico State Police officer Justin Hare on I-40 near Tucumcari.

FOX News reported the shooting occurred near mile marker 320 around 5:30 a.m.

An X post from the New Mexico State Police indicates a search for Jaremy Smith is underway and charges of “First Degree Murder, Armed Robbery, Shooting at or from a Motor Vehicle, Tampering with Evidence, Felon in Possession of a Firearm, Unlawful Taking of a Motor Vehicle, and Criminal Damage to Property” have already been introduced.

Smith, 32 years old, is from Marion, South Carolina.

KOB4 noted that Smith was “wearing a brown hoodie and jacket” when he allegedly shot Hare and “was last seen walking on the I-40 Frontage Road at mile marker 304.” He is considered armed and dangerous.

The shooting unfolded when Hare was sent to aid a motorist with a flat tire. The motorist turned out to be Smith, who approached Hare’s cruiser, talked to him about the flat, then allegedly pulled a gun and shot him dead.

Hare had two young children.

AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio and a pro-staffer for Pulsar Night Vision. He was a Visiting Fellow at the Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal in 2010 and holds a Ph.D. in Military History, with a focus on the Vietnam War (brown water navy), U.S. Navy since Inception, the Civil War, and Early Modern Europe. Follow him on Instagram: @awr_hawkins. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange. Reach him directly at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..