John Guerin, 76, male, died on December 6, 2018, in Bluewater Village near Grants in Cibola County, New Mexico. Late that morning, Cibola County sheriff’s deputies went to his residence to serve an arrest warrant. As they approached the front door, at least one shot was fired from inside the home toward the deputies, who returned fire and established a perimeter while calling in the New Mexico State Police tactical and crisis-negotiations teams.
A single gunshot was later heard from within the residence. When officers made entry, they found Guerin inside with a single self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head; a. 22-caliber handgun was located next to him, and he was pronounced dead by the Office of the Medical Investigator. No deputies were injured.
Earlier that evening, local news reported that deputies attempting to serve the warrant in the Grants area had been met with gunfire, prompting an exchange of shots and an evacuation of nearby residents while state police took over the scene; at that time, officials had not yet released the man’s name. The later identification and investigative summary confirmed it was Guerin and that the fatal wound was self-inflicted.
Public memorial listings have since recorded the death date and location as part of statewide gun-fatality tallies, though some secondary sites confuse the place name as “Grants Pass, New Mexico” and attach differing personal details; the official state-police account remains the authoritative version of events.
There were no arrests stemming from the incident. Investigators indicated the deputies had been serving an arrest warrant on Guerin himself; after he fired from inside and later died of a self-inflicted wound, there were no outstanding suspects related to his death.
