Authorities have arrested four suspects in connection with a shooting that killed three people and injured 15 others at an “unsanctioned car show” in a southern New Mexico park.
Tomas Rivas, 20, two 17-year-old boys, and a 15-year-old boy were each charged with three open counts of murder with additional charges pending, the Las Cruces Police Department said in a news release Sunday. Police are not naming the three teenagers because they are minors.
Police said Rivas and one of the 17-year-olds were arrested on Saturday evening. The two other teen suspects were arrested separately on Sunday.
“The three juveniles are incarcerated in the juvenile section of the Dona Ana County Detention Center,” the Las Cruces Police Department said in the news release. “Rivas is on the adult side and is initially being held without bond.”
The investigation into the shooting, which occurred on Friday night, is ongoing, police said. The shooting happened at about 10 p.m. local time at Young Park in Las Cruces.
On Sunday, police said law enforcement partners are “actively following multiple leads” in the investigation. The Las Cruces Police Department is also being assisted by the FBI, ATF, New Mexico State Police, the Third Judicial District Attorney’s Office, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
The El Paso Times, part of the USA TODAY Network, reported that Doña Ana County District Attorney Fernando Macias said his office is working closely with law enforcement and will move forward with prosecution as quickly and as effectively as possible.
“In spite of this horrific incident, the Las Cruces community remains strong, vibrant, and united. We will face this tragedy together and confront the challenges ahead with resilience and determination,” Macias said.
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What happened in the shooting?
During a news conference Saturday, Las Cruces Police Chief Jeremy Story said the shooting began as an altercation between two groups of people at an “unsanctioned car show” that escalated into gunfire between the groups.
Las Cruces police and fire personnel were dispatched to reports of gunfire and possible gunshot victims in the parking lot of Young Park, Story said. There were about 200 people in the park at the time of the shooting, police said.
Story said more than 50 shell casings were found at the scene, which were all from handguns. Most bullet casings were found in the parking lot at the park, but investigators found some casings throughout the park and toward the street, police added.
Three male victims were killed and 15 people — between the ages of 16 and 36 — were injured, according to police.
Of the 15 injured victims, nine are male and six are female. Authorities did not disclose their names.
Las Cruces Fire Chief Michael Daniels said two victims were pronounced dead at the scene, seven people were treated on scene, four were transported locally and one was flown to El Paso, a Texas city about 45 miles south of Las Cruces.
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Police identify three victims killed in the shooting
Police identified the victims killed in the shooting as Andrew Madrid, 16; Jason Gomez, 18; and Dominick Estrada, 19. Madrid and Gomez died at the scene while Estrada was transported to MountainView Regional Medical Center where he succumbed to his injuries.
Madrid was a sophomore at Centennial High School and a member of the junior varsity baseball team.
“More than just a teammate, AJ was a friend, a brother, and a young man whose passion for the game and kind spirit touched so many,” the school’s Hawk Home Run Club stated on a social media post. “His memory will forever live on in our hearts and on the field.”
Several vigils to honor the memory of the victims killed in the shooting were scheduled for Sunday, including at the Thomas Branigan Memorial Library Branch and Momentum Church.
‘Heartbroken and horrified’
In response to the shooting, New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said she would call back the state legislature for a special session to address what she called “New Mexico’s crime crisis.” The state needs to do more to find solutions to juvenile crime, gun violence, and their root causes, the governor said in a statement.
Lujan Grisham said she was “heartbroken and horrified” by the mass shooting.
“The indiscriminate nature of this shooting is both shocking and unacceptable, but sadly not surprising. This violence tears at the fabric of our communities and leaves wounds that may never heal,” Lujan Grisham said. “My heart goes out to the victims, their families, and the entire Las Cruces community during this unimaginably difficult time.”
The governor said there has been a “disturbing rise in violent crime in Las Cruces,” including the stabbing death of Las Cruces police officer Jonah Hernandez during a trespassing call at a business last year. The assailant was fatally shot by a witness.
“This is not merely a statistic; these are our neighbors, our children, our future,” Lujan Grisham said.
