Police have arrested three people in connection with a mass shooting on Friday night at an “unsanctioned car show” in Las Cruces, New Mexico that left three people killed and at least 15 others injured.
Local police said the shooting occurred at around 10pm on Friday at Young Park following “an altercation between two groups of people”. There were approximately 200 people at the park when the shooting occurred.
Late on Saturday, police said in a statement on Facebook that they arrested one 20-year-old adult, Tomas Rivas, and one 17-year-old juvenile for their involvement and charged both with three open counts of murder. Then on Sunday, a third suspect – another 17-year-old boy – was also arrested and charged with three counts of murder. More charges for all three suspects are reportedly pending.
Police on Saturday shared the identities of the victims: Andrew Madrid, 16; Jason Gomez, 18; and Dominick Estrada, 19. Madrid and Gomez died on scene, according to police.
The other 15 victims injured in the shooting range in age from 16-36. Of the 15 victims, nine are male and six are female, police said, but did not release their names publicly.
In a statement on Facebook earlier on Saturday, the Las Cruces police department issued a public request for videos from the Young Park shooting, particularly “video that shows the shooting or subjects with firearms, to submit the video so investigators can analyze it and help develop a better understanding of the incident”.
Police added that casings had been located “throughout the park and parking lot” and that “all the casings located so far are handgun caliber casings”.
One witness, 20-year-old Angel Legaspy, whose parked car was struck by bullets, told the New York Times: “They just started shooting and they just started running around everybody,” adding that the shooting was “like all over the place”.
On Saturday morning, Johana Bencomo, a Las Cruces city councilor and the mayor pro temp, wrote on Instagram: “Part of me wanted to write that this is something you never really think this is going to happen in your city but that actually feels deeply untrue. Honestly [nowadays] a tragedy like this feels like a nightmare just waiting to come true at any possible moment, yet also always praying and hoping it never will.
“As with all acts of gun violence in our city and beyond, my heart is broken for the victims and families impacted. This was a heinous act of violence that will leave our city mourning,” she added.
New Mexico’s governor, Michelle Grisham, has also issued a statement, saying: “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.”
