Two people have been arrested in connection with a shooting between two rival groups at an unsanctioned car show late on Friday night where three people were killed and at least 15 others were injured in Las Cruces, N.M., the police said.
The two arrested, Tomas Rivas, 20, and a 17-year-old boy, were charged with three counts of murder, the police said in a statement on Sunday. Additional charges were pending.
About 200 people were at the show at Young Park when gunfire erupted around 10:10 p.m., the police said at a news conference on Saturday. The shooting involved handguns and resulted in the discharge of as many as 60 rounds, officials said.
The police said the shooting began between two groups that had ill will toward each other though the nature of the dispute was unknown.
Mr. Rivas was booked into the Dona Ana County Detention Center where he will initially be held without bond. The teenager was expected to be taken a juvenile detention facility. It was not immediately clear on Sunday if they had lawyers.
The victims who were killed were identified as Andrew Madrid, 16; Jason Gomez, 18; and Dominick Estrada, 19, the police said. The 15 victims who were injured — nine males and six females — were from 16 to 36 years old, the police said.
Of those wounded, seven patients were sent to the University Medical Center of El Paso in Texas. Four others were treated and discharged from hospitals, and the conditions of another four receiving treatment were unclear, Michael Daniels, the Las Cruces fire chief, said at the news conference.
“Today we mourn a tragic, a senseless, a horrible event that happened in our city last night,” the city’s mayor, Eric Enriquez, said at the news conference. “Our heartfelt condolences to all. This is a sad day for our community.”
Witnesses said that the shooting took place at a monthly gathering where drivers of modified sports cars show them off. They described a scene of pandemonium as gunshots were heard and attendees began to flee.
“They just started shooting and they just started running around everybody,” said Angel Legaspy, 20, whose parked car was hit by bullets. The shooting was indiscriminate, “like all over the place,” he said.
Manuel Urbina, who was visiting from Wyoming, went to the park to check out the city’s car scene. He said things were calm aside from the occasional squeal of a skidding car or the roar of its engine. Then he heard shots.
“People were running everywhere,” he said. “We all started to run, and then I saw a young man laid out on the ground.”
The police asked anyone who has video or images of the events, particularly any that show the shooting or people with firearms, to submit them as evidence.
New Mexico has struggled in recent years with violent crime.
The violent crime rate there was twice the national average in 2023, according to the Council of State Governments Justice Center. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, a Democrat, has made combating crime a priority.
“There will come a time to talk about the failures that led to this tragedy and so many others in New Mexico, but now is not that time,” Jeremy Story, the Las Cruces police chief, said at the news conference.
Las Cruces became a flashpoint in the state’s debate over crime in February 2024, when a police officer, Jonah Hernandez, was stabbed to death after responding to a trespassing call.
By August of 2024, violent crime in the city was up 46 percent compared to the same period in 2023.
The post Two Arrested in Shooting that Killed 3 and Injured 15 at New Mexico Park, Officials Say appeared first on New York Times.
