ALBUQUERQUE — A 14-year-old boy was shot and killed early Friday whereas taking part in video video games with different youngsters in a University of New Mexico dorm room, New Mexico State Police mentioned.
After an hourslong manhunt, John Fuentes, 18, was arrested Friday afternoon in Valencia County, New Mexico State Police Chief Troy Weisler instructed reporters throughout a night information convention held on the college campus.
Fuentes, considered one of 4 occupants within the dorm room on the time of the capturing, was being held in state police custody whereas the company ready charging paperwork for an open depend of homicide and different crimes.
“This is a tragic incident that has had a deep impact on our entire community,” Weisler mentioned.
One different particular person, a 19-year-old man, was injured within the capturing. Weisler didn’t determine the injured particular person, and declined to call the 14-year-old.
He added police didn’t have purpose to consider there have been different suspects within the capturing and mentioned it gave the impression to be an remoted incident.
University police responded to an alarm to the Casas del Rio pupil housing advanced at about 1:36 a.m. Friday, Weisler mentioned. There, they found blood, damaged home windows and, in the end, the useless 14-year-old. About an hour later, the 19-year-old admitted himself to University of New Mexico Hospital.
Weisler mentioned the 4 had been hanging out within the dorm room — which belonged to one of many occupants, a pupil — taking part in video video games when the pictures rang out. He mentioned police had been nonetheless investigating why gunfire erupted. He additionally declined to debate why the 14-year-old was on campus, or what relation he needed to others within the room.
The different three occupants of the room fled, with Fuentes leaving a path of proof all through campus, Weisler mentioned. A coalition of a number of businesses, together with state police, the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office and Albuquerque police labored to trace him, aided by license plate studying expertise. Police arrested him throughout a visitors cease in Valencia County round 2:30 p.m.
Toa Fa’avae, a participant on UNM’s soccer group, had been staying on the Casas del Rio dormitory advanced the place a capturing left a 14-year-old boy useless and one other teen wounded Friday.
Gabriela Campos/The New Mexican
‘What the hell happened?’
Toa Fa’avae was returning house to the Casas del Rio pupil housing advanced round 3 a.m. Friday when he was stopped by police.
The 18-year-old quarterback within the University of New Mexico soccer program was out late at a Jason Aldean live performance on the Isleta Amphitheater and had no thought what had occurred earlier on the dorms.
Fa’avae was not allowed again into the dorm advanced, which is now a criminal offense scene. He waited round exterior for hours earlier than lastly going to the college’s soccer facility to relaxation.
Thoughts about how near house the capturing got here — and fear for his teammates, who weren’t responding to his messages — rattled round his head.
“You can’t even be safe at your own dorms,” he mentioned. “I know there’s a lot of gun violence out here, but it’s just crazy to think that.”
Jaymar Tasi, an offensive lineman within the college’s soccer program, mentioned he was coming down from his room on the fourth ground of the constructing to examine on his laundry when he heard the gunfire — 4 pictures in all. His mates regarded exterior and noticed folks leaping out of home windows and working away from the constructing, he mentioned.
Toa Fa’avae, a member of the University of New Mexico soccer group, walks together with his belongings previous crime scene tape on the Casas del Rio dormitory advanced on Friday, hours after an early morning capturing that left a 14-year-old boy useless and one other teen wounded.
Gabriela Campos/The New Mexican
“I just ran upstairs, and I just went back in my room,” Tasi mentioned.
The Associated Press reported one pupil noticed an injured particular person hiding in bushes exterior the dorm simply after the capturing.
Jered Rennick, one other soccer participant, additionally mentioned he noticed folks working away from the constructing. He was watching a film with mates when the gunfire rang out.
“It was just like, ‘What the hell happened?’ ” he mentioned.
‘Distressing for new students’
The capturing despatched the sleepy college campus, in the course of internet hosting orientation for brand new college students, into lockdown, with a shelter in place order remaining in impact for many of the day.
UNM police spokesperson Tim Delgado mentioned in an interview he coordinated an effort to bus new college students who had been collaborating within the orientation from the dorms, the place they had been sheltering, to their autos.
“I’m just working on the part with getting the kids out of here,” he mentioned.
In a press release emailed to college students Friday afternoon, UNM President Garnett Stokes acknowledged the incident could also be “especially distressing for new students and their families,” and promised orientation actions will proceed sooner or later with extra helps in place.
“I am deeply saddened by the loss of life and horrified by this act of violence in our campus community,” Stokes wrote. “Our thoughts and prayers go to the loved ones and friends of those lost and injured. This is certainly a difficult moment, and it’s okay to feel overwhelmed, angry, or afraid.”
Joshua Trujillo, who mentioned his daughter had been attending the scholar orientation and staying in a constructing close to the scene of the capturing, waited throughout the road Friday as a state police crime scene car rolled into the dorm parking zone.
While the college had not launched a lot data to oldsters associated to the incident, he mentioned, they’d saved households well-informed that their kids had been secure. Trujillo famous he was instructed the scholars had been saved of their dorms and meals had been delivered to them.
“But yeah, you get a little nervous when you know your kid’s in one of these situations,” he mentioned.
Two distraught girls sit collectively inside the crime scene boundary close to the Casas del Rio dormitory advanced on the University of New Mexico campus on Friday, following a capturing that left a 14-year-old boy useless and one other teen wounded.
Gabriela Campos/The New Mexican
‘UNM must be a safe space’
In a press release posted on social media, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham mentioned the state “must do better at reducing gun violence, especially involving our young people,” whereas noting firearms usually are not allowed on faculty campuses until carried by legislation enforcement.
“Today’s deadly shooting at UNM is heartbreaking and I extend my deepest sympathies to the family of the individual who lost their life in this tragedy,” she wrote. “We will not accept this as normal.”
Albuquerque Police Deputy Chief Cecily Barker famous members of the National Guard assisted authorities in sustaining the crime scene Friday. The help from guardsmen got here as a part of an ongoing effort ordered by Lujan Grisham to assist handle crime in Albuquerque.
Mayor Tim Keller additionally lamented the capturing in a press release, writing his ideas had been with the sufferer’s household and commending legislation enforcement’s efforts to swiftly arrest the suspect.
“We understand that this incident caused fear for many across our city — especially for those connected to the university,” he wrote. “UNM must be a safe space for our kids and we will continue to stand with the community in the days ahead.”
New Mexico State Police officers converse with each other Friday on the University of New Mexico campus close to the scene of a capturing that left a 14-year-old boy useless and one other teen wounded.
Gabriela Campos/The New Mexican
‘Step up and pass laws’
The capturing prompted renewed calls Friday for brand new gun legal guidelines.
“This heartbreaking incident is yet another reminder of the urgent need to address gun violence and historical trauma in our state,” state Rep. Marianna Anaya, D-Albuquerque, mentioned in a press release. She famous her dedication to “working with colleagues, students, educators, and public safety leaders to enact common-sense, life-saving policies.”
A press release from advocacy teams Everytown for Gun Safety and Moms Demand Action decried the capturing as an indication of the necessity for reform.
“What kind of country lets campuses become battlegrounds? My generation deserves diplomas for going to school, not death sentences,” Bo Wilson, a volunteer with Students Demand Action in New Mexico, mentioned in a press release. “We’re done waiting. New Mexico leaders must choose: protect our generation or protect the gun industry. Listen to us, it’s time to step up and pass laws that will save lives.”
New Mexico State Police officers safe the boundary of a criminal offense scene on the University of New Mexico campus in Albuquerque following a capturing that left a 14-year-old boy useless and one other teen wounded Friday. The capturing despatched the sleepy college campus, in the course of internet hosting orientation for brand new college students, into lockdown, with a shelter in place order remaining in impact for many of the day.
Gabriela Campos/The New Mexican
Other violence on campus
Friday’s deadly capturing is the second on the campus in lower than three years. A shootout in November 2022 left UNM basketball participant Brandon Travis useless and wounded New Mexico State University basketball participant Mike Peake. Two males had been convicted on costs in reference to a plot to lure Peake to a dormitory on campus for the confrontation.
A lawsuit filed within the aftermath by Travis’ household alleged NMSU coaches and an athletic director had been conscious pupil athletes carried weapons, in violation of faculty coverage, and even “actively fostered” the follow. The litigation is pending.
More latest violence has erupted at Lobo Village on the campus.
In January, two residents had been shot and wounded at a celebration on the apartment-style pupil housing advanced on the south campus. Two of the a number of suspects within the case weren’t arrested till April.
In September, a UNM pupil was stabbed 10 instances by one other man throughout an altercation at a Lobo Village celebration. The suspect was arrested after fleeing to Santa Fe.
