As the 35th anniversary of the Las Cruces bowling alley mass shooting approaches, the heinous crime that claimed the lives of four children and three adults continues to hang over the community unresolved. The Las Cruces police, still seeking closure for this brutal event, remind the public of a standing $25,000 reward for information leading to the apprehension of the perpetrators, as reported by the City of Las Cruces.
The tragic incident occurred on February 10, 1990, when two gunmen herded their seven victims into the office of Las Cruces Bowl before commencing their assault, which left almost no survivors, they killed among the victims three children, with the adult survivors succumbing to their injuries or the complications thereof in the following years. It was 12-year-old Melissia Repass, despite multiple gunshot wounds, who managed to call 911 and alert the authorities, leading to the discovery of the crime scene by Las Cruces police and fire personnel, according to the City of Las Cruces.
In the chaos of that fateful morning, officers arrived to find 26-year-old Steven Teran, his young daughter, and a 13-year-old girl already dead, the victims of an execution-style shooting; meanwhile, another child died soon after at a local hospital, recounted in the official press release. Miraculously surviving the ordeal was Melissia Repass, her mother Stephanie Senac, and Ida Holguin, who overcame their injuries though Senac later died from related complications.
The investigation has turned up that the assailants, believed to be Hispanic men with dark complexions and fluent in English, have escaped with a sum totaling less than $5,000, and in a bid to eliminate evidence, they set the scene ablaze, a desperate act to cover their tracks following the murder and robbery, this information having emerged from continuous investigative efforts. Las Cruces-Dona Ana County Crime Stoppers keeps its doors open for anonymous tips, which can be provided via phone at 1-800-222-8477, through their website at NMCrimeStoppers.org, or using the "P3 TIPS" app available in most app stores, this according to statements made by the City of Las Cruces.
