Las Cruces police suspect multiple gunmen in mass shooting

Yahoo

23-03-2025

LAS CRUCES — Three people died and 15 others were injured in a mass shooting at a park in Las Cruces, officials said Saturday.
Police and fire crews arrived at just after 10 p.m. Friday onto a chaotic scene at the city's Young Park, where an unauthorized car show had drawn about 200 people, police said during a news conference. Gunshot victims ranging in age from 16 to 36 were treated on the scene or sent to area hospitals.
Between 50 and 60 shell casings — all from handguns — were found scattered across a wide swath of the large park, Police Chief Jeremy Story said, suggesting multiple shooters and multiple weapons within the two opposing groups. Several others were injured in the crossfire, he said.
Las Cruces Fire Chief Michael Daniels said seven patients were treated at the scene, including two who died, and 11 others were sent to three local hospitals or to University Medical Center of El Paso, the regional trauma center. By Saturday, seven of the surviving victims were in El Paso, while four others had been treated and released and the four remaining victims' conditions were not known, he said.
Victims were sent to all three local hospitals, as well as to University Medical Center of El Paso, the regional trauma center, according to police and hospital officials. Of six patients who arrived at Memorial Medical Center in Las Cruces by ambulance and private car, five were sent to El Paso, said marketing and communications director Andrew Cummins.
Authorities continued to solicit videos and other tips from those in attendance as they worked to identify a suspect or suspects who carried out the attack.
'This horrendous, senseless act is a stark reminder of the blatant disregard people in New Mexico have for the rule of law and order,' Story said, vowing about the perpetrators to 'find each and every one of them, and we will. We will hold them accountable to the criminal justice system.'
Those who died were two 19-year-old men and a 16-year-old boy, police said. Their names and those of other victims were not yet being released.
In a statement late Saturday morning, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said the shooting "underscore[s] the legislature's years-long failure to address the crime crisis shattering lives and communities in our state" and said lawmakers "should expect a special session to address our ongoing public safety crisis."
"New Mexicans are heartbroken, and they should also be outraged that their legislature will adjourn today without having a passed a single bill to address juvenile crime or ban assault weapons," Lujan Grisham said. "Their inaction is appalling and unacceptable."
In a letter to the governor released Saturday, House and Senate Republican leaders also called for a special session to address both crime and the state's shortage of health care providers.
"New Mexico is in crisis, and we cannot wait another day for reluctant legislators to take long-overdue action towards keeping our communities and neighborhoods safe from violent criminal behavior," they wrote. "Equally important, the Legislature's inability to lower malpractice insurance premiums, as well as provide incentives to both encourage health care providers to stay in our state and recruit medical professionals, especially in our rural areas, is unacceptable."
"We sounded the alarm 12 days ago, all about the critical legislation to address crime and health care and that it was going nowhere. Unfortunately, nothing changed," House Minority Leader Gail Armstrong, R-Magdalena, said at a news conference Saturday.
"Republicans made attempt after attempt to pass meaningful crime legislation, but we were blocked at every turn," said House Minority Whip Alan Martinez, R-Bernalillo. "The biggest threat New Mexico is facing is violent juvenile offenders, and week after week, we see headlines that highlight the dangers in our communities. We must address this now."
Democratic leaders were more skeptical about the usefulness of a special session: "Special sessions don't work if the bills aren't cooked," as Senate Majority Leader Peter Wirth, D-Santa Fe, put it at a news conference Saturday afternoon marking the end of the session."
'I do think that calls for a special session at this point are premature," said House Speaker Javier Martínez, D-Albuquerque. "Obviously, the governor has the authority to call a special session, and if she does, then we'll all come to the table and see what we can work ahead of time.'
Sen. Joe Cervantes, D-Las Cruces, posted on X that "on the last day of our session I will drive home to share the shock and grief of my home community. And do so profoundly disappointed my House colleagues again failed to confront clear solutions including SB318," referring to a bill he sponsored to allow some lawsuits against gunmakers.
Police were asking Saturday for bystanders to share videos and other tips as they continued to seek a suspect or suspects in the attack.
In a post to Instagram on Saturday, Las Cruces City Councilor and Mayor Pro Tem Johana Bencomo expressed grief at the tragedy.
'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,' she wrote. 'Honestly now days 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.'
Las Cruces police said police and fire personnel are being assisted in their investigation by New Mexico State Police, the Doña Ana County Sheriff's Office, the FBI and agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
'Last night, I sat on the floor of the Senate while texts and calls from all over the district — including from the Las Cruces Police Chief — poured in about what was happening," Sen. Crystal Brantley, R-Elephant Butte, who represents part of the city, said in a statement. "There is no feeling like the helplessness you experience, even from the center of the Capitol building, when a tragedy like this strikes.'
Brantley said she was praying for the families of the victims and that the shooting was "another reminder that despite all of our 'progress' on crime legislation, New Mexico criminals do not fear the strong arm of the law." Public safety legislation has been a major focus of the 2025 legislative session, which ends at noon Saturday, and many Republicans and Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham have taken the Democratic majority to task for not doing more.
'When we cannot feel safe in our parks — where our kids, my kids, play — there is a deep moral failing by our government to protect its citizens," Brantley said. "We must return to a place of safety and stop with the half-measures."
Cervantes said on the Senate floor he hopes "we get a little bit beyond the now common refrain that thoughts and prayers are with folks."
'My heart goes out to the Las Cruces community and everyone who lost someone or has a loved one in the hospital because of this senseless mass shooting," Democratic gubernatorial candidate Deb Haaland said in a statement. "Addressing gun violence is about safety and preventing crime. We must do everything we can to keep our communities safe."
Lujan Grisham expressed condolences to the victims and said she was "mobilizing state resources to support local law enforcement in their investigation.
"The disturbing rise in violent crime in Las Cruces — which has increased by 46 percent compared to last year — demands immediate and sustained attention," she said. "This is not merely a statistic; these are our neighbors, our children, our future."
This is a developing story and will be updated.