Former CNN correspondent, anchor survive motel gunfight
Albuquerque police investigate deadly motel shooting
A former CNN correspondent was shot three times late Tuesday night during an attempted robbery at an Albuquerque motel.
Former CNN anchor and Manzano High School graduate Lynne Russell told Action 7 News she and her husband Chuck de Caro were robbed at gunpoint around 11:30 p.m. at the Motel 6 near Coors and Iliff.
De Caro worked as a correspondent for CNN.
Russell said they were exhausted Tuesday night and decided to go to a motel to rest. She had gone to the car to get something when a man put a gun to her head, dragged her back into the motel room and demanded her valuables.
"The man pushed me inside, I was airborne, literally. And (I) landed on the bed, and that was about the time that Chuck came out of the shower," Russell said. "The man was just wild. He was pointing the gun, and the way that he was acting, it was as if he'd done it before."
Russell said she and her husband legally carry handguns, and they had them in the motel room.
For a moment, she said, it looked like the thief just wanted her husband's briefcase.
"He came over, grabbed the briefcase, and I thought for a moment he was just going to leave because he had something," Russell said. "Then he turned around and he opened fire. My husband returned fire. And he's a better shot."
According to police, both men fired multiple rounds.
Russell said her husband was hit three times. He underwent surgery at University of New Mexico Hospital and is expected to be there for a few days while he recovers.
Officers found the other man in the parking lot. He died at the scene.