Detectives are continuing to investigate the February 1990 mass-shooting at a Las Cruces bowling alley that claimed four lives that day and left three others critically injured.
Shortly after 8 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 10, 1990, police were dispatched to what was then known as Las Cruces Bowl, at 1201 E. Amador Ave., when 12-year-old Melissa Repass called 911 to report that she and six other people had just been shot execution-style.
Inside the bowling alley, first-arriving officers found three victims already dead: 26-year-old Steven Teran, his 6-year-old daughter Paula Holguin and 13-year-old Amy Hauser. Police found Teran’s 2-year-old daughter, Valerie Teran, clinging to life. Valerie was rushed to a local hospital but died a short time after arrival.
Wounded during the shooting were Repass, her mother Stephanie Senac, 34, and 33-year-old Ida Holguin (no relation to Paula). They were transported to area hospitals and survived the shooting.
The two men responsible for the mass shooting have never been positively identified.
Teran was employed at the bowling alley and, at around 8 a.m. that day, arrived for work along with his two young daughters who were scheduled to stay at the daycare facility located inside the bowling alley. The teenage girls, Repass and Hauser, were scheduled to supervise children in the daycare that day while Senac worked at the bowling alley which was owned by her father. Ida Holguin was employed there as a cook.
Detectives believe that when Teran walked into the building, he was immediately confronted by one of the suspects who took him and his daughters to the bowling alley’s office where the other four victims were being held.
After the bowling alley’s safe was opened, and an estimated $5,000 in cash was removed, the two suspects shot all seven victims and intentionally set fire to the office in what was believed to be an attempt to destroy evidence. After the suspects fled the scene, a critically-injured Repass had the courage and presence of mind to call 911, and give first responders the initial details of what just occurred.
Within about a minute, Las Cruces police officers arrived and found all seven victims in the bowling alley’s office. The investigation began immediately and has been ongoing ever since.
“The Las Cruces Police Department is continuing its investigation into this case and aggressively follows new leads as they come in,” said Las Cruces Police Chief Jaime Montoya. “Anyone who has information relevant to this case – no matter how insignificant that information may appear to be – is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or the Criminal Investigative Section at (575) 528-4222.
“It remains our intention to solve this case for the sake of the victims, their families and friends, and all the residents of Las Cruces who continue to mourn the senseless tragedy that shook our city on that cold February morning a quarter century ago.”
In the 911 call for help, Repass initially described the two suspects as possibly being black though further interviews lead investigators to believe they are Hispanic with dark complexions. Both suspects were said to speak clear English.
In 1990, the older suspect was said to be in his late 30’s or early 40’s, 5-feet-5-inches tall with a medium build and weighing between 160 and 180 pounds. The younger suspect was believed to be in his late 20’s, between 5-feet-6 and 5-feet-8-inches tall with a medium build and weighing around 190 pounds.
Today, the older suspect would be in his late 50’s or early 60’s. The younger suspect would be in his late 40’s or in his early 50’s. Composite sketches of the men were drawn in 1990 and again in 2005 to depict how they may have aged.
The Las Cruces Police Department urges anyone with information that may help solve this crime to please call detectives at (575) 528-4222. Anyone who wants to provide information, but wishes to remain anonymous, can call Las Cruces Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or send a tip by text message to CRIMES (274637), keyword LCTIPS.
The Crime Stoppers number and text messaging services are operational 24 hours a day and you do not have to give your name to collect a reward.
Information from Las Cruces Police