Roll of Honor
Incident
Location: New Mexico Incident Date: Thursday, January 6, 1921 Weapon: Handgun Offender: Shot and killed
Special Officer Luis Abeita succumbed to gunshot wounds sustained six days earlier while attempting to arrest a man who had shot a teenager moments earlier.
The man shot the teen in the back due to an argument they had been involved in. Officer Abeita located the subject near a bridge along the tracks 100 yards north of the railroad station and attempted to arrest him. The man opened fire, wounding Officer Abeita in the hand and abdomen, before fleeing into the nearby bosk.
A posse of local, state, and federal officers responded to the area from Albuquerque and located the man in the bosk. The man was killed during an ensuing shootout.
Officer Abeita was taken to St. Joseph's Hospital in Albuquerque, where he succumbed to his wounds six days later.
Officer Abeita had served with the Pueblo of Isleta Police Department for 16 years and also served as a special officer with the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad Police Department.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife and five children.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-ISL-TR-6F762FDF- Stewardship
- Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
- Added to badge.nw
- April 2, 2026
- Last updated
- July 23, 2026
Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.
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Tributes
I never knew you. I am standing here anyway.
Special Officer Abeita gave the Pueblo of Isleta Police Department 16 years.
Thank you for your service to the Albuquerque community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Special Officer Abeita.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Special Officer Luis Abeita is one of 17,623 officers killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 54.2% of all 32,508 officers honored here.
In NM, 123 of 193 officers were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 63.7% of this state's fallen. That is 9.5 percentage points above the national rate of 54.2%.
National Cause Distribution
How Felonious compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Luis Abeita's cause is highlighted.
How Luis Abeita Compares
Offender Outcome
Shot and killed
When Felonious Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Felonious deaths across the full memorial record. Luis Abeita is highlighted in Jan.
Weapons Used Against Officers
Most common weapons in felonious officer deaths. Luis Abeita was killed by handgun.