Three people were killed and at least 15 others were injured in a mass shooting on Friday night at an “unsanctioned car show” in Las Cruces, New Mexico.
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.
Those killed included two 19-year-old men and one 16-year-old boy. Police have not yet released the names of those killed and others who were injured but said that the victims were between 16 and 36 years old.
In a press conference on Saturday, police said that seven people who were injured had been sent from local hospitals to El Paso for further treatment. Four others have been treated and released, and police are still waiting on updates from local hospitals on the remaining four patients.
No arrests have been made but police are following “multiple leads”, officials said, adding that “this is a huge crime scene with a lot of moving parts”.
In a statement on Facebook 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.”
“I am mobilizing state resources to support local law enforcement in their investigation. If you have any information, particularly video or images that could help identify those responsible, please come forward and contact the Las Cruces police department immediately,” she added.
The Guardian has reached out to city officials for comment.
