Latest news with #JohnFuentes
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
Man, 18, Identified as Suspect Who Allegedly Killed 1, Injured Another During University of New Mexico Shooting
Authorities charged John Fuentes in relation to the death of a 14-year-old boy and the injury of a 19-year-old male The identity of the suspect arrested and charged in relation to the fatal shooting at the University of New Mexico (UNM) has been revealed. In a statement issued on Saturday, July 26, the New Mexico State Police (NMSP) named 18-year-old John Fuentes as the alleged perpetrator. Fuentes was located by authorities in Valencia County and was taken into custody without incident on the afternoon of Friday, July 25, hours after the shooting, the statement said. He was then booked at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Albuquerque on charges of murder in the first degree, aggravated battery, aggravated assault and tampering with evidence. NMSP were initially called to the UNM campus in the early hours of July 25 after receiving a report of a shooting from the University of New Mexico Police Department, according to the statement. Campus police responded to an alarm signal at Mesa Vista Hall, an academic building located on campus, at 1:36 a.m. local time. Upon arrival, campus officers observed broken windows and suspected blood, and, after conducting a security sweep of the surrounding buildings, they discovered the body of a deceased 14-year-old male inside one of the dorms, per the NMSP. College police officers additionally received a call from the University of New Mexico Hospital stating that a 19-year-old male had come in with a gunshot wound and said he was shot at the UNM campus. NMSP said in the release that their initial investigation 'has determined that the incident involved four individuals who were hanging out in a dorm room in the Casas Del Rio complex.' 'At some point, for reasons still being investigated, the suspect began shooting a firearm at the other occupants in the room. The 14-year-old victim was fatally shot while the other occupants, along with the suspect, fled from the room,' the statement continued. Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases. The name of the deceased victim, as well as the other individuals involved in the incident, have not yet been released. It currently remains unclear if Fuentes is a UNM student. NMSP said the investigation remains ongoing. PEOPLE reached out to the University of New Mexico, as well as the University of New Mexico Police Department, for comment on July 26 but did not receive an immediate response. Read the original article on People
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
14-year-old boy identified as victim in University of New Mexico dorm shooting
A shooting inside a dorm room at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque early Friday morning left a 14-year-old boy dead and another teen wounded, state police said. The suspect in the shooting, identified by police as 18-year-old John Fuentes, was taken into custody hours after the shooting during a traffic stop in Los Lunas, New Mexico, about 25 miles south of Albuquerque, New Mexico State Police said during a news conference Friday evening. Fuentes has been booked on one count of first-degree murder, aggravated battery, aggravated assault and tampering with evidence. An initial investigation indicates that four young people were inside a dorm room at Mesa Vista Hall playing video games when the violence broke out, according to State Police. "At some point, for reasons still being investigated, the suspect began shooting a firearm at the other occupants in the room. The 14-year-old victim was fatally shot while the other occupants, along with the suspect, fled from the room," State Police said in a statement Saturday. The other person who was wounded in the shooting is 19, according to police, and had injuries that were not believed to be life-threatening, the university said earlier. University of New Mexico Police officers responded to an alarm call at the dorm at around 1:30 a.m. Upon arrival, officers found broken windows and suspected blood, according to New Mexico State Police. University police then received two more calls reporting gunshots and a second from UNMH that a 19-year-old male came in with a gunshot wound and said he had been shot at UNM campus, according to state police. While conducting a sweep of the surrounding buildings, officers found a 14-year-old dead, state police said. Fuentes remains in state police custody. Authorities said he will be booked into the Metropolitan Detention Center in Bernalillo County. The university initially issued a shelter-in-place, which lasted much of the day. By Friday afternoon local time, the university said there was "still an active crime scene" in the central part of the campus, but that the shelter-in-place order had been lifted. The central campus remained closed, the university said. New Mexico State Rep. Marianna Anaya said new student orientation was underway this week. "Waking this morning to the news of this act of violence has shaken the entire UNM community," she said in a statement. "It is especially heartbreaking that this occurred during the time of a new student orientation -- a time when students and their families should be filled with hope, excitement, and a sense of possibility." She added, "This heartbreaking incident is yet another reminder of the urgent need to address gun violence and historical trauma in our state."
UPI
3 days ago
- UPI
Man, 18, arrested in fatal shooting in University of New Mexico dorm
John Fuentes, 18, is facing charges of first-degree murder, aggravated battery and tampering with evidence. He is in custody at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Albuquerque, N.M. Photo by Bernalillo County Sheriff's Office July 26 (UPI) -- An 18-year-old man was arrested in the death of a 14-year-old boy and injury of a 19-year-old while playing video games at a University of New Mexico student housing complex in Albuquerque, police said. The campus reopened on Saturday, the university said in a news release. The suspect, John Fuentes, was arrested around 2:30 p.m. local time Friday in Los Lunas, 25 miles south of Albuquerque and about 13 hours after the shooting at Casas del Rio housing complex. Fuentes was taken into custody at 3 a.m. Saturday at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Albuquerque. He is facing charges of first-degree murder, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and tampering with evidence, New Mexico State Police said. Fuentes was arrested during a traffic stop on Highway 314 in Valencia County. Several agencies, including state police, the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Bernalillo County Sheriff's Office and Albuquerque police, looked for Fuentes. Fuentes was one of four teenagers playing video games in a dorn room, New Mexico State Police Chief Troy Weisler said at a news conference. According to court documents Saturday obtained by KOAT-TV, Fuentes went to the dorm parking lot in his father's vehicle. At 10:20 p.m., he met with the 14-year-old and another person, police said. A fourth person told authorities they were playing video games, and the Fuentes appeared to be on drugs. The victim was shot in the head. He said they fled through a window. Police said Fuentes first went to his car and then wound up on the first story of the housing building where he injured himself while smashing several windows. Blood stains, a stolen Glock 9mm handgun, keys and a pair of blue jeans were left on the roof, police said. Two people picked him up in a pickup around 1:40 a.m., police said. Gunfire was detected after midnight at the dormitory. At 1:36 a.m., police responded to an alarm from the dorm building. They found a broken window and what appeared to be blood, Weisler said. Police found the dead 14-year-old inside the dorm. The young teen hasn't been identified. At 2:30 a.m., a 19-year-old man arrived at a hospital with a gunshot wound. The university first reported the incident at 3:27 a.m. via Lobo Alerts. Central campus had been closed "out of an abundance of caution," the school posted on X. For about five hours people were told to shelter in place. Late Friday, the university said the campus would reopen Saturday with all planned activities. The dormitory also reopened, the school posted on X. "This is a tragic incident that has had a deep impact on our entire community," Weisler said. The University of Mexico has about 22,000 students enrolled but much fewer during the summer. More than 400 students were attending new student orientation and were staying in the dormitories. "We understand this incident may be especially distressing for new students and their families," University President Garnett S. Stokes said in a statement. "We want to assure everyone that we are fully committed to your safety and well-being."
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Daily Mail
Eerie stare of suspected gunman who killed boy, 14, and injured another in University of New Mexico shooting
An 18-year-old has been arrested on suspicion of fatally shooting a 14-year-old boy and injuring another during a terrifying rampage at the University of New Mexico. John Fuentes is accused of opening fire on the teen as he was playing video games inside a dorm room with three other teens around 1:30am on Friday, according to police and the Santa Fe New Mexican. A 19-year-old male student was also left injured in the mayhem. He later showed up at the hospital with gunshot wounds. The teens were inside the Albuquerque dorm room inside the Casas del Rio complex when the shooting occurred. It is unclear why a 14-year-old was on a college campus or why gunfire erupted. Panicked students were seen jumping out of windows after the shots ran out and the incident sparked a shelter in place alert as police frantically searched for the suspect. Fuentes was arrested hours later and a booking photo shows him staring defiantly at the camera. The shooting took place as first-year students were on campus for orientation. It is unclear if Fuentes was a student at the university or whose dorm room they were in. Campus police responded to the incident in the early hours of Friday morning and observed blood and a broken window upon arrival. While performing a security sweep, campus police discovered the 14-year-old's body in the dorm. They notified the New Mexico State Police, who took over the investigation. Authorities determined the four were inside the dorm room when shots rang out, striking the 14-year-old. The three others, including Fuentes, 'fled from the room,' state police said. More than 12 hours later, Fuentes was arrested in Valencia County during a traffic stop and he was taken into custody without incident. He was booked into the Metropolitan Detention Center and charged with first-degree murder, aggravated battery, aggravated assault, and tampering with evidence. 'This is a tragic incident that has had a deep impact on our entire community,' New Mexico State Police Chief Troy Weisler said at a press conference. Jaymar Tasi, who is an offensive lineman on the school's football team, said he was checking on his laundry when he heard four gunshots in the building. His friends saw students jumping out windows and running from the building afterward, he told The Santa Fe New Mexican. 'I just ran upstairs, and I just went back in my room,' he said. Mikey Beck, a student, said he heard gunshots overnight and saw what appeared to be an injured person hiding in some bushes. Two other people jumped out of a dorm window and ran, he told AP. 'It's really sketchy out here. Just being in Albuquerque is really scary,' he told the outlet. The campus was placed on a shelter-in-place order out of an abundance of caution. UNM President, Garnett S. Stokes, said in a statement: 'The safety of our campus and our community remains our utmost priority. 'We understand this incident may be especially distressing for new students and their families who are here this week for orientation. We want to assure everyone that we are fully committed to your safety and well-being.' She went on to say that she was 'deeply saddened by the loss of life and horrified by this act of violence in our campus community'. She also said orientation activities will continue as scheduled. Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham extended her. 'deepest sympathies to the family of the individual who lost their life in this tragedy'. 'Let me be clear: New Mexico law prohibits firearms on campus unless carried by peace officers. New Mexico must do better at reducing gun violence, especially involving our young people. We will not accept this as normal,' she continued. Mayor Tim Keller said his thoughts were with the victim's loved ones and the university community. 'We are heartbroken by the tragic loss of life that occurred today on the University of New Mexico campus,' Keller said in a statement. The university in central Albuquerque has about 23,000 students during the school year. New students have been visiting as part of scheduled orientations ahead of the fall semester, which begins in about three weeks. New Mexico's largest city has struggled with violent crime in recent years, particularly among juveniles. District Attorney Sam Bregman, who is running for the Democratic nomination for governor, has called for state lawmakers to do more to address what he describes as a crisis. The plea for legislative action comes amid violence in New Mexico involving young suspects, including a fatal hit-and-run in Albuquerque and a shooting in Las Cruces in March that killed three and wounded 15 others. Prosecutors, law enforcement and Republican lawmakers have pressed Grisham, who is a Democrat, to convene a special legislative session to address the state's crime problem. Despite voicing her disappointment with the Democratic-controlled Legislature at the end of the last session, the governor has not given recent indications that she will be calling lawmakers back to Santa Fe.
