Two suspects have been arrested in the mass shooting in Las Cruces, N.M., that left three teenagers dead and 15 more people wounded, cops said Sunday.
Tomas Rivas, 20, and a 17-year-old boy were detained Saturday evening, Las Cruces police said in a Facebook post. They were both charged with three counts of murder.
Dominick Estrada, 19; Jason Gomez, 18, and Andrew Madrid, 16, were killed in the shooting Friday night at a park in the southern New Mexico city. They were identified in Sunday’s Facebook post.
The 15 wounded victims included nine males and six females, all between the ages of 16 and 36, authorities said. They were not identified further, and cops said their recovery statuses were not available.
The shooting erupted around 10 p.m. on Friday during a car show at the park in Las Cruces, about 40 miles north of El Paso, Texas. Investigators said it started when two groups of people began arguing.
Justin Garcia/The Albuquerque Journal via AP
Crime scene technicians look over the Young Park parking lot on Saturday after a mass shooting overnight in Las Cruces, N.M. (Justin Garcia/The Albuquerque Journal via AP)
Officers found between 40 and 60 bullet casings on the ground while investigating the shooting. All the casings were from handguns, police said.
“Law enforcement partners are continuing their investigation and are actively following multiple leads,” Las Cruces police wrote on Facebook. The park remained closed as cops surveyed the scene.
“Part of me wanted to write that this is something you never really think is going to happen in your city, but that actually feels deeply untrue,” City Councilor and Mayor Pro Tem Johana Bencomo wrote on Instagram. “Honestly now days a tragedy like this feels like a nightmare just waiting to come true at any possible moment, yet [you’re] also always praying and hoping it never will.”
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