Three people were killed and 15 others were injured in a shooting at an "an unsanctioned car show" in a park in Las Cruces, New Mexico, Friday night, police said.
The Las Cruces Police Department said the violence involving multiple firearms happened around 10 p.m. at Young Park, over 200 miles south of Albuquerque.
A preliminary investigation revealed that an altercation between two groups at the car show escalated into gunfire, injuring many, including bystanders who may have been struck by crossfire, Police Chief Jeremy Story said, noting there were around 200 people at the park at the time of the shooting.
"That altercation escalated to gunfire between both groups," he said at a news conference, later adding: "We know that there was some type of ill will between these groups prior to last night."
Two victims were killed at the scene and a third was pronounced dead at the hospital, Las Cruces Fire Chief Mark Daniels said. The three victims are a 16-year-old boy, an 18-year-old man, and a 19-year-old man, police said in an update Saturday afternoon. The department previously stated the deceased included two 19-year-olds.
Fifteen others were injured in the shooting, including seven victims who were treated on the scene and seven who were taken to area hospitals and then to nearby El Paso, Texas, for further treatment, according to Daniels. Those injured ranged in age from 16 to 36, police said.
In an interview with NBC News on Saturday, Story described the most critically injured patients as "fighting for their lives."
It is not clear what started the altercation between the two groups, Story said. The chief said it was a wild night before gunfire broke out in the parking lot area of the park on Friday.
"There was already craziness going on before the shooting, with people sticking guns out the window and driving and doing doughnuts," he said.
"This is a huge crime scene with a lot of moving parts. It will take time to process it thoroughly and reopen everything," he said.
Multiple shots fired from the incident could be heard in a video shared to social media. The majority of the shooting took place in the parking lot at the park, but bullet casings were also found down the street, according to officials. Around 50 to 60 bullet casings were found in total, they said.
No arrests have been made in connection with the shooting as of Saturday afternoon, but Story said that multiple persons of interest have been detained, and investigators asked for a judge's permission to search multiple locations in the Las Cruces area.
A vehicle with gunfire damage that may have been involved in the incident was located, he said, and multiple guns were found at the scene and elsewhere, he said.
"I'm confident that hopefully we'll be able to put out a release that at least there's been some arrests made," Story said. "But we're not quite there."
"It appears that both sides are shooting with handguns," the chief said. "We have recovered some handguns that were discarded in different places. We've recovered some handguns on scene. And so we don't have all of them, but we do have some of them."
Story said a person who was holding an AR-15 rifle in pictures circulating on social media has been interviewed, and while he said the images were concerning, that individual was not involved in the shooting.
Young Park has been "troubled with crime" in recent years, Story said. Unsanctioned car shows have also "become an issue" in the area.
The chief said at the news conference that Friday's outcome might also have been different if he had had more officers available and that the shooting was an example of "the utter lack of fear of accountability in New Mexico."
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said the shooting left her "heartbroken and horrified." In a statement on Saturday, she said state resources will bolster the investigation.
Lujan Grisham said the state Legislature has failed to act amid "the disturbing rise in violent crime in Las Cruces," a city of nearly 115,000 about 45 miles north of El Paso. She urged New Mexicans to pressure legislators to call a special session in what she called a "public safety crisis."
"The indiscriminate nature of this shooting is both shocking and unacceptable, but sadly not surprising," Lujan Grisham said.
Las Cruces Mayor Eric Enriquez called the shooting "a heinous act of violence" that will leave the city in mourning.
"As with all acts of gun violence in our city and beyond, my heart is broken for the victims and families impacted," Enriquez wrote in an Instagram post.
Young Park and roadways leading to it are temporarily closed as the investigation is in process, police said.
The Las Cruces Police Department is asking anyone with information or footage of the incident to get in touch with them.
The FBI, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the New Mexico State Police and the Dona Ana County Sheriff’s Office are assisting with the investigation.
