Three people were killed and 15 others were injured at “an unsanctioned car show” in a park in Las Cruces, New Mexico Friday night mass shooting, according to police.
The Las Cruces Police Department said the shooting happened at around 10 p.m. at Young Park, over 200 miles south of Albuquerque. A preliminary investigation revealed an altercation between two groups at the car show escalated into gunfire, injuring many, including bystanders, according to Police Chief Jeremy Story.
Two victims were killed as the scene and a third was pronounced dead at the hospital, according to Las Cruces Fire Chief Mark Daniels. The three victims are a 16-year-old boy and two 19-year-old men.
Fifteen others were injured in the shooting, including seven victims who were treated on the scene and seven who were taken to area hospitals and then El Paso, Texas for further treatment, according to Daniels. Those injured ranged in age from 16 to 26, police said.
It is not clear what started the altercation between the two groups, Story said. There were around 200 people at the park during the time of the shooting.
“This is a huge crime scene with a lot of moving parts, it will take time to process it thoroughly and reopen everything,” Story added at a news briefing Saturday morning.
Multiple shots fired from the incident could be heard in a video shared to social media. The majority of the shooting took place in the parking lot at the park, but bullet casings were also found down the streets, according to officials. Around 50 to 60 bullet casings were found in total.
No arrests have been made in connection with the shooting as of Saturday morning, but police are following “multiple leads.”
Story said a person who was holding an AR-15 rifles in pictures circulating on social media has been interviewed, and while he said the images were concerning, that individual was not involved in the shooting.
Young Park has been “troubled with crime” in recent years, Story said. Unsanctioned car shows have also “become an issue” in the area.
Las Cruces Mayor Eric Enriquez called the shooting “a heinous act of violence” that will leave the city in mourning.
“As with all acts of gun violence in our city and beyond, my heart is broken for the victims and families impacted,” Enriquez wrote in an Instagram post.
Young Park and roadways leading to it are temporarily closed as the investigation is in process, police said.
The Las Cruces Police Department is asking anyone with information or footage of the incident to get in touch with them.
The FBI, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, New Mexico State Police and the Dona Ana County Sheriff’s Office are assisting with the investigation.
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