Three people were killed and 15 others were injured in a mass shooting on Friday night in Las Cruces, New Mexico.
Local police said the shooting occurred at around 10pm on Friday at Young Park. Those killed included two 19-year-old men and one 16-year-old boy. Their names and those of the other victims were not yet being released.
Police have not yet released the names of those killed and others who were injured but did say the victims are between 16 and 36 years old.
Between 50 and 60 shell casings — all from handguns — were found scattered across a wide area of the large park, Police Chief Jeremy Story said, suggesting multiple attackers and multiple weapons in two opposing groups.
No arrests have been made but police are following “multiple leads”, officials said.
In a statement on Facebook on Saturday, the Las Cruces police department issued a public request for videos from the Young Park shooting, particularly “video that shows the shooting or subjects with firearms, to submit the video so investigators can analyze it and help develop a better understanding of the incident”.
One witness, 20-year-old Angel Legaspy whose parked car was struck by bullets, told the New York Times: “They just started shooting and they just started running around everybody,” adding that the shooting was “like all over the place”.
On Saturday morning, Johana Bencomo, a Las Cruces city councilor, wrote on Instagram: “Part of me wanted to write that this is something you never really think ... is going to happen in your city but that actually feels deeply untrue. Honestly [nowadays] a tragedy like this feels like a nightmare just waiting to come true at any possible moment, yet also always praying and hoping it never will.
“As with all acts of gun violence in our city and beyond, my heart is broken for the victims and families impacted. This was a heinous act of violence that will leave our city mourning,” she added.
City officials have been contacted for comment. -The Guardian
