‘Horrific tragedy’: Three dead, 15 injured after gunfight erupts during car meetup in Las Cruces

LAS CRUCES — Hundreds watched as Adrian Núñez, 17, and his friend showed off their cars at Young Park — doing doughnuts and burnouts until the air was thick with tire smoke. Then, people in the crowd began pointing guns, fitted with lasers, through the rolling clouds.

Núñez told the Journal it was surreal watching the bright beams pierce the smoke, knowing a barrel was at the other end.

“You see that stuff in Instagram videos and TikTok, in places in California, but you’re not expecting it in real life,” he said. “And I guess I was just kind of like, ‘Oh, well, they’re not going to do anything, right?’”

Wrong.

Shaquane Heckstall, team captain of an El Paso-based car club, said the bullets started flying without warning. He thought it was a car backfire at first, but moments later, Heckstall was tending to Núñez’s friend and the boy’s father, both of whom had been shot and were bleeding heavily.

The battle that broke out between two groups Friday night at the Young Park car meetup — an unsanctioned event — sent a spray of gunfire that killed a 16-year-old boy and two young men, 17 and 19. Fifteen others were injured, between the ages of 16 and 36, and many were driven by other attendees to local hospitals. Several of the most seriously injured were taken to University Medical Center in El Paso.

Four people were treated at hospitals and released.

Authorities cordoned off the chaotic scene, where the asphalt was littered with more than 50 bullet casings from multiple handguns. Behind the crime scene tape, two bodies lay still amid the glow of red and blue lights.

At a news conference Saturday morning, Las Cruces Police Department Chief Jeremy Story promised a “thorough, meticulously documented investigation” and vowed to apprehend all parties responsible for the shooting, which he said occurred during an “unsanctioned” car show. One individual shown carrying an AR-15-style rifle in an image circulating widely on social media had been interviewed by police, Story said, and was not believed to have been involved.

Hours later, in an update on Facebook, LCPD said: “At this time, police have not made any arrests for this incident but are actively following multiple leads.”

The deceased have not been identified by police, but the Centennial High School Hawks baseball team, on Instagram, identified player Andrew “AJ” Madrid, a sophomore, as one of those killed.

“More than just a teammate, AJ was a friend, a brother, and a young man whose passion for the game and kind spirit touched so many. His memory will forever live on in our hearts and on the field,” according to the post. “We also extend our deepest condolences and prayers to all the victims and families affected by this horrific tragedy.”

‘No place for violence’

Shortly after 10 p.m., Las Cruces police and EMTs responded to calls reporting gunfire and apparent casualties at the Walnut Street entrance to Young Park, in a parking area close to businesses, homes, Lynn Community Middle School, and a major artery for cross-town traffic.

Mobile phone videos purporting to show the incident, circulating on social media, show a car spinning in circles in the parking lot as a crowd of young people looks on. One video appears to show a physical confrontation between two figures in the background just before a rapid volley of gunfire erupts and the crowd scatters for cover.

Expressing grief over the shooting, Las Cruces Mayor Eric Enriquez said, “There’s no place for violence like this in our community, and we will continue to work tirelessly to make our community safe.”

Las Cruces was asking the public for any video taken during the car meetup, especially showing those who had firearms, “so investigators can analyze it and help develop a better understanding of the incident.” Any members of the public with information or seeking information about one of the victims were asked to contact police at 575-526-0795.

New Mexico State Police is assisting LCPD in the initial investigation, as well as the Doña Ana County Sheriff’s Office, the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

The park and area surrounding it remained closed to traffic Saturday morning.

A problem park

As the city mourned those killed and local and federal authorities tried to track down the shooters, locals pointed to Young Park as part of the issue. The park has drawn regular complaints about youth gatherings and sometimes gunfire.

The city installed a gate to close the parking lot last year, but that gate locks at 11 p.m., an hour after the incident. Neighbor Rosana Colorbio said she has complained to the city about the gatherings, which sent the smell of burning rubber into her vents. She was pleased when the city installed gates at the park a few months ago, but a broken gate allowed access, and the events continued.

What had largely been a nuisance, she said, turned into something “very heartbreaking” on Friday.

Another neighbor who can see the park from his apartment patio said he had been smoking a cigarette and watching the car show moments before the gunfire erupted. The man, who asked not to be identified, said the car shows have been a longstanding problem and are often broken up by the police.

Although he had not observed participants carrying weapons, the neighbor said, “It was going to happen. I’ve said to myself many times, ‘Somebody’s going to get shot. Somebody’s going to get hurt. Somebody’s going to get killed.’”

Finishing another cigarette as he observed the police investigation across the street, he said it was time to find a new place to live. The man added, “This is the last straw. I’m done.”

Rep. Sarah Silva, D-Las Cruces, told the Journal that the park has been the site of car meetups for some time.

At a family summer concert held there in July, when the sun set, “kids in cars were gathering and doing doughnuts and cruising,” she said. “And we knew then, if this doesn’t get interrupted, something bad is going to happen.”

Silva said Las Cruces police have the resources they need to address the issues but haven’t. “I’m pretty upset about it,” she added.

Story, the police chief, said the department doesn’t have the manpower, alluding to debates in Santa Fe about criminal statutes and resources for law enforcement as he spoke of preventative measures.

“In a perfect world where I had 220 police officers like I’m supposed to, it probably would have been different last night, but I had no units available for most of the night prior to the shooting,” Story said.

‘Go help my dad’

Heckstall, an active-duty soldier, said he arrived at the Young Park car show around 9 p.m. and it was business as usual. There was a lot of buzz about the Young Park show, even if it was unsanctioned, and about 200 cars filled the parking lot.

“Everyone’s just socializing, having a good time, doing regular car scene things,” he said.

Núñez said he had gone across the street to take pictures of his car, losing track of his friend Ignacio. That’s when he heard gunfire coming from the park.

Heckstall said he knew it was a gun, and not a car, when the pops kept coming “in quick succession.” When it stopped, he said he rummaged through his trunk, pulling laces out of shoes and grabbing T-shirts, “things that I can make tourniquets and bandages out of.”

One of the first people Heckstall found wounded was a boy he estimated to be around 16 or 17 years old.

“He was pretty bloody. His mom, or whoever that was, was crying real bad. So I’m like, ‘Yo, where’s he hit? What happened? Are you OK?’” Heckstall said. “Obviously, he’s not OK. But I’m just trying to get him talking, because with stuff like this, you have to make sure they keep talking to keep them awake.”

That boy was Núñez’s friend Ignacio. Heckstall said the boy told him, “Go help my dad,” and he found the boy’s father close by, “real shot up.”

Núñez said Ignacio and his dad are both at the hospital in El Paso. Núñez wondered why the police were not nearby.

“That’s what I found crazy. The cops usually come and bust us when they start drifting and stuff,” he said. “Tonight, the cops didn’t show up at all.” That is, until it was too late.

Journal staff writers Megan Gleason, Dan Boyd and Nakayla McClelland contributed to this report.