A shooting Friday night at a New Mexico park left three people dead and 14 more wounded.
Shortly after 10 p.m., law enforcement officers were summoned to Young Park in Las Cruces due to a shooting incident that occurred during an unofficial car display involving two rival groups, as stated by Las Cruces Police Chief Jeremy Story.
Chief Story mentioned that there was already animosity between these two groups prior to the incident, which further escalated during the gathering.
Both groups of people opened fire, he said, and members of the two groups as well as people unrelated to the groups were hit by gunfire.
Police said two 19-year-old men and a 16-year-old boy were killed. Overall, the victims ranged from 16 to 36.
Fire Chief Michael Daniels reported that seven individuals received initial medical attention at the park, while the others were initially transported to one of three nearby hospitals; additionally, one person was airlifted to a hospital in El Paso, Texas. Eventually, seven more patients were transferred from local medical facilities to El Paso.
Story said there have been no arrests so far, and police are asking anyone with video or photos to upload them to a secure site police provided.
He also commented on a video circulating on social media that showed a man brandishing a long rifle. That man has been interviewed, he said, and was not involved in the shooting — although, the chief noted, it was problematic that he was at the scene with a rifle.
All the shell casing recovered from the scene so far — approximately 50 to 60 — are from handguns. Most of them were recovered from the park’s parking lot but others were found elsewhere in the park and nearby. Story said police have not determined how many guns were involved, but it was “multiple.”
Law enforcement officers from multiple agencies, including federal, state, and local, are assisting with the investigation.
The names of the victims have not been released.
Las Cruces is a small city in southeastern New Mexico, about 40 miles north of El Paso.
