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Susan Kuchma gunned down this morning.
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Justin Quintana held on open count of murder.
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State Police officers at shooting scene.
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State Police Chief Fran Segotta at afternoon news conference.
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A New Mexico State Police officer shot to death by her son this morning is the first female officer in the history of the agency to die while in the state service. Susan Kuchma, 43, was off duty when she was gunned down she was shot once and died at the scene.
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Her son, Justin Quintana, 25, was arrested and is being held in the Doa Ana County Detention Center.
"What I can say is that our investigators have found enough evidence to charge Quintana with one open count of murder," Las Cruces Police Department spokesman Dan Trujillo said.
Police said it was Quintana who reported the shooting at Dr. King Way and Taylor Drive.
When police arrived they found officer Kuchma lying in the street. Quintana was nearby.
Kuchma had been a State Police officer for five years.
"The New Mexico State Police has very few female officers," Chief Faron Segotta said. This is the first time in the history of our department that a female officer died while being a member of the State Police."
Kuchma was well-known in the department and was well-liked, he added.
Her husband Patrick Kuchma is also a State Police officer stationed in Las Cruces. Quintana is reported to be her child from a previous marriage.
Police said for some reason Quintana called Kuchma to his home on Dr. King Way in the middle of the night.
It's unclear what may have lead to the shooting.
Police said they found a handgun believed to be murder weapon at the scene. It is not known if it was Kuchma's service weapon. State police spokesman Lieutenant Rick Anglada said the 43-year-old officer was married to another state police officer, patrolman Patrick Kuchma.
