3 days ago
14-year-old boy identified as victim in University of New Mexico dorm shooting
A shooting inside a dorm room at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque early Friday morning left a 14-year-old boy dead and another teen wounded, state police said.
The suspect in the shooting, identified by police as 18-year-old John Fuentes, was taken into custody hours after the shooting during a traffic stop in Los Lunas, New Mexico, about 25 miles south of Albuquerque, New Mexico State Police said during a news conference Friday evening.
Fuentes has been booked on one count of first-degree murder, aggravated battery, aggravated assault and tampering with evidence.
An initial investigation indicates that four young people were inside a dorm room at Mesa Vista Hall playing video games when the violence broke out, according to State Police.
"At some point, for reasons still being investigated, the suspect began shooting a firearm at the other occupants in the room. The 14-year-old victim was fatally shot while the other occupants, along with the suspect, fled from the room," State Police said in a statement Saturday.
The other person who was wounded in the shooting is 19, according to police, and had injuries that were not believed to be life-threatening, the university said earlier.
University of New Mexico Police officers responded to an alarm call at the dorm at around 1:30 a.m. Upon arrival, officers found broken windows and suspected blood, according to New Mexico State Police.
University police then received two more calls reporting gunshots and a second from UNMH that a 19-year-old male came in with a gunshot wound and said he had been shot at UNM campus, according to state police.
While conducting a sweep of the surrounding buildings, officers found a 14-year-old dead, state police said.
Fuentes remains in state police custody. Authorities said he will be booked into the Metropolitan Detention Center in Bernalillo County.
The university initially issued a shelter-in-place, which lasted much of the day. By Friday afternoon local time, the university said there was "still an active crime scene" in the central part of the campus, but that the shelter-in-place order had been lifted. The central campus remained closed, the university said.
New Mexico State Rep. Marianna Anaya said new student orientation was underway this week.
"Waking this morning to the news of this act of violence has shaken the entire UNM community," she said in a statement. "It is especially heartbreaking that this occurred during the time of a new student orientation -- a time when students and their families should be filled with hope, excitement, and a sense of possibility."
She added, "This heartbreaking incident is yet another reminder of the urgent need to address gun violence and historical trauma in our state."
