A tragic outbreak of violence marred Young Park late Friday night as a mass shooting claimed the lives of three individuals and left 14 others with injuries. Las Cruces Police have confirmed that two 19-year-old men and one 16-year-old boy have been killed in the incident. At present, the identities of both the victims and the injured have not been disclosed, as communicated by Las Cruces Police. KTSM reported that the injured range from 16 to 36 years of age.
The investigation is ongoing, as law enforcement has yet to apprehend any suspects. However, they are actively pursuing multiple leads in hopes of quickly tracking down those responsible. Authorities are calling for the public's assistance, urging anyone with video footage of the event to upload it to a secure link provided by the Las Cruces Police. As stated by a KFOX-TV post by City Council member Johana Bencomo, no arrests have yet to have been made.
Details of the chaos that ensued at Young Park have been sparse, but what is known is the incident pushed local hospitals to their limits as they managed the sudden influx of victims. Emergency services transported gunshot victims across the region, with some receiving treatment at the University Medical Center of El Paso, which serves as the regional trauma center. Andrew Cummins, marketing and communications director at Memorial Medical Center in Las Cruces, revealed to WYMT that six patients arrived at their facility, five of whom were later transferred to El Paso for specialized care.
As the community seeks to make sense of such senseless violence, intersections of law enforcement efforts come together. The Las Cruces Police Department is joined by federal agencies such as the FBI and ATF, along with the New Mexico State Police and Dona Ana County Sheriff’s Office, to thoroughly investigate the shooting. A news conference was set to take place, with further information tentatively provided to the press and live-streamed to the public via the City of Las Cruces YouTube channel. Young Park and surrounding areas will remain closed to the public while officials continue to thoroughly survey the scene.
