A shooting Friday night at a New Mexico park left three people dead and 14 more wounded.
Police were called to Young Park in Las Cruces shortly after 10 p.m. for the shooting, which took place at an unsanctioned car show between two groups of people, Las Cruces Police Chief Jeremy Story said.
“There had been some type of ill will between these groups prior to last night,” the chief said, adding that it escalated in the course of the evening.
Both groups of people opened fire, he said, and members of the two groups as well as people unrelated to the groups were hit by gunfire.
Police said two 19-year-old men and a 16-year-old boy were killed. Overall, the victims ranged from 16 to 36.
Fire Chief Michael Daniels said that seven victims were treated on scene and the rest were at least initially taken to one of three local hospitals, except one who was flown directly to a hospital in El Paso, Texas. Ultimately, seven more patients were sent from local hospitals to El Paso.
Story said there have been no arrests so far, and police are asking anyone with video or photos to upload them to a secure site police provided.
He also commented on a video circulating on social media that showed a man brandishing a long rifle. That man has been interviewed, he said, and was not involved in the shooting — although, the chief noted, it was problematic that he was at the scene with a rifle.
All the shell casing recovered from the scene so far — approximately 50 to 60 — are from handguns. Most of them were recovered from the park’s parking lot but others were found elsewhere in the park and nearby. Story said police have not determined how many guns were involved, but it was “multiple.”
Law enforcement officers from multiple agencies, including federal, state, and local, are assisting with the investigation.
The names of the victims have not been released.
Las Cruces is a small city in southeastern New Mexico, about 40 miles north of El Paso.
