Investigations into Friday’s shooting in Young Park are continuing. As of Wednesday, March 26, three juveniles and one adult have been arrested for their involvement in the shooting, which left three teenagers dead and 15 other victims wounded, in what the Las Cruces Police Department is describing as an unsanctioned car show.
Family and other members of the community gathered at Young Park to pay homage to the three victims who perished in the March 21st shooting. 21-year-old Zanaya Hernandez said she and her brother were among the crowd of bystanders fleeing the gunfire.
“They did shoot our car, they did get our car and our tire. I mean I’m okay, my brother’s okay,” she said. “It was packed. You had people parking at La Casa, people across the street at the dirt, you know, coming to watch people in their cars. And then out of nowhere, just people dead. Families are hurt.”
Hernandez said she grew up in Las Cruces, and defended against any notion that the car meetup itself was the problem, and said she’d even be open to organizers collaborating with the city to ensure security at future events.
“This had nothing to do with the car meet whatsoever,” she said. “We can still have fun. We can still get together, we can show off our cars without families getting hurt, without people, you know, dropping to the ground.”
Amid the ongoing investigation, Las Cruces Police Chief Jeremy Story led a press conference detailing the events of Friday night through redacted police body camera footage, images and 911 calls. Story said all four suspects that have been arrested have a history of criminal incidents. He also criticized the state legislature for not passing a bill to address juvenile crime, and specifically advocated for 2025’s House Bill 134 when speaking about the potential of a special legislative session.
“This is not about politics, but it is about policy. Police chiefs from across the state and the New Mexico Association of Chiefs of Police have been screaming from the rooftops about a very serious juvenile violent crime problem we have in New Mexico,” Story said. “[District Attorneys] across New Mexico, like District Attorney Bregman in Bernalillo, have been sounding the alarm on juvenile crime, yet nothing meaningful was accomplished at our last legislative session to address these dire concerns.”
Among officials at the press conference was Las Cruces City Manager Ikani Taumoepeau, who said discussion is ongoing among city leaders regarding youth diversion programs and safe spaces for young people.
“One of the things that we have right now is a facility, our Amador Live facility, that the city owns. We have a business that left, and we’re looking to reprogram this, and one of the opportunities that we’re looking at is making this a function for the youth in the community,” Taumoepeau said. “In the upcoming weeks, we’ll continue to meet with our teams, the counselors, the mayor and with our staff to see what we can do to create a safe space so the youth can be heard.”
As the community mourns the tragic loss of life, city leaders are left grappling with how to prevent another tragedy while giving the city’s youth spaces to gather safely. For KRWG Public Media, I’m Jonny Coker.
