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A little over a month ago, a woman filed a petition for a restraining order against her ex on behalf of her daughter, saying he had threatened the teenage girl. When asked if he had weapons she wrote he had a 9mm 380 Ruger.
The daughter had reported Bradley Wallin had sexually assaulted her and Bernalillo County sheriff’s deputies were investigating the case, authorities say.
The temporary order of protection was granted and Wallin was told to stay away from the family.
But on Sunday – Mother’s Day – police say 52-year-old Wallin shot and killed the daughter and her cousin before killing himself in the parking lot of Party City near Cottonwood Mall.
Alexia Rael, 17, and Mario Salgado-Rosales, 16, both died at the scene.
Lt. Ray Del Greco with the Albuquerque Police Department said homicide detectives have learned that Rael’s mother and Wallin had been in a “long time relationship” but it had ended after Rael reported that he had sexually abused her.
“The mother ended up removing Mr. Wallin from her life, which led Mr. Wallin, we believe, to want to strike out at one of the individuals that he felt was responsible for having his behavior brought to the attention of the authorities,” Del Greco said.
He said the two cousins were buying party favors for a Mother’s Day event on Sunday when they were killed. However, Del Greco did not know how Wallin found them there.
Officers were dispatched to the Party City on Coors near Ellison NW around 12:30 p.m. because a caller reported a man had put a gun to his own head and killed himself in the parking lot. When they arrived they found three people dead, at least one of whom was still in the car when he was shot.
Neither Rael’s nor Salgado-Rosales’s mothers could be reached by the Journal on Monday. Wallin’s family also could not be reached.
Friends who visited the site of the shooting on Monday described Rael as someone who was ambitious, bold and said what was on her mind.
“She was really positive,” said Luciano Garcia, 17. “There was never a situation that she couldn’t turn into a positive one. Whenever you were around her she would make you feel like she was giving you her attention and you could always tell she really cared.”
Garcia said Rael and her cousin Salgado-Rosales were really close and he had been staying with her and her mother recently. They both attended the Digital Arts & Technology Academy.
Wallin was the branch manager at First Financial Credit Union, according to his LinkedIn profile. He does not have a criminal history in New Mexico, according to online court records.
The Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office has not released the report detailing the sexual assault allegations against him.
It’s unclear how long Wallin and Rael’s mother had been together or when the couple broke up.
Facebook photos show the couple together – smiling broadly and looking happy – as far back as 2016.
Journal staff photographer Adolphe Pierre-Louis contributed to this report.
