Attempted murder

CIBOLA COUNTY, N.M. – Katie Mllry was going about her day on Nov. 24. She was walking down the road in the Zuni Mountains near La Bajara like she loved to do, when a car pulled up next to her and opened fire with a shotgun. Mllry survived the assault but the gunman remains on the loose.

Cibola County Sheriff’s Deputies arrived quickly; Mllry expressed her gratitude at how promptly the police arrived. Despite the swift response by police the gunman managed to get away.

The shooting took place around El Segundo Loop and the La Jara subdivision, according to the incident report.

The altercation

People who live in the Zuni Mountains often use the trails and public lands available to them, Mllry is one of those people. She frequently walked around the mountain, meeting her husband on the road as he returned home every day.

Because she lived in the mountains and often took walks, Mllry usually carried her .38 pistol for protection. While she never imagined she would need to use it, she said that she carried the weapon to protect herself not just from wild animals but also from the people who might drive in that area.

Drivers often stopped to make sure that she was okay and Mllry let them know that she was just out for a stroll, so it wasn’t a surprise when a four-door Hyundai SUV pulled up next to her and asked if she was fine.

Things turned south when the masked driver displayed a shotgun. Mllry responded by flashing her firearm and moving away from the vehicle.

The driver stepped out of the SUV and fired the first shot, striking Mllry in the back of her left leg near her lower back.

She turned around and unloaded two shots at her assailant. It was at this point that the driver fired another shot, striking Mllry in the chest near her face, forcing her to collapse.

Mllry stumbled down the side of the road and into some malpais (lava rocks).

She responded to the injuries and fired the remaining bullets at her assailant. Things started to go black for Mllry; she recalled that she spent several minutes in the ditch before getting up and walking up the road, knowing that her husband would be by soon.

As he was returning home Wesley Mllry passed by a blue Hyundai SUV that was driving fast down the road. Thinking there was something strange about the vehicle, the US Army veteran committed his observation to memory before seeing his wife emerge from some bushes just off the road. Bloodied, he suspected his wife was hit by a car until she told him she had been shot.

K. Mllry spent a few hours in Cibola General Hospital where she was treated for the gunshots. She survived the encounter but will likely have pellets from the shotgun in her body forever.

Hunt for the gunman

The Cibola County Sheriff’s Office is the lead agency in this investigation. Putting on detective hats and working with the department, the Mllrys have been helping the CCSO compile as much information as possible.

The Mllrys said that working with CCSO Deputies has been great, but that they wished for more coordination between the local police agencies.

The Mllrys thought they had identified the shooter’s vehicle. But after contacting Grants Police Department they were told by an officer that there wasn’t a vehicle description provided to their agency and they didn’t know to be on the lookout for the suspect or the vehicle.

W. Mllry explained that the family wants to know that they and the rest of the community are safe, and that they’re not sure any of the local police agencies have the resources they need to make sure that can happen.

Any tips about the gunman can be reported to CCSO at 505-876-2040, or anonymously to Cibola County CrimeStoppers at 505-287-8400.