Horror footage captured the moment gunfire broke out at an unsanctioned street car show in New Mexico, killing three teenagers and injuring 15 others.
The shooting unfolded Friday night at Young Park in Las Cruces, New Mexico, as a vehicle wildly drove in circles around a group of people.
A bystander could be heard yelling ‘he has a gun’, before the crowd scrambled to safety as bullets rang out across the park.
Authorities said at least 50 bullets were fired in the spree, and witnesses were seen hiding under vehicles and sprinting for lives as shots continued firing.
No suspects have been arrested over the mass shooting, with unnamed victims described as a 16-year-old boy, a 17-year-old, and an 18-year-old.
Separate footage showed witnesses running through a parking lot as the sounds of several guns could be heard, and investigators said the shooting was believed to have been sparked by an altercation between two groups who fired at each other.
Police said they believe the two groups had tensions prior to Friday night’s shooting, and many of the injured were bystanders caught in the crossfire.
Las Cruces Police Chief Jeremy Story said at a press conference on Saturday: ‘We know that there was some type of ill will between these groups prior to last night.’
Horror footage captured the moment gunfire broke out at an unsanctioned street car show in New Mexico where three teenagers were shot dead and 15 other people were injured
The shooting unfolded Friday night at Young Park in Las Cruces, New Mexico, as witnesses were seen hiding under vehicles and sprinting for lives as shots continued firing
No suspects have been arrested over the mass shooting, and and investigators said the shooting was believed to have been sparked by an altercation between two groups who fired at each other
One of the deceased victims was reportedly shot at the head and pronounced dead at the scene along with another victim, while the third passed away later at the hospital.
Seven of the fifteen surviving victims were treated at the scene and seven were raced to hospitals, with the injured ranging in ages from 16 to 26.
Chief Story said it remains unclear what caused the altercation between the two groups, and estimated the number of people at the unsanctioned car show at over 200.
‘This is a huge crime scene with a lot of moving parts, it will take time to process it thoroughly and reopen everything,’ Story said at the press conference on Saturday.
Cops added that although they have not yet made any arrests over the mass shooting, they are following ‘multiple leads.’
Images of an attendee at the car meet holding an AR-15 style rifle circulated on social media after the shooting, and Story said that while the images were concerning, the person was found to not have been involved in the incident.
In the footage, a bystander could be heard yelling ‘he has a gun’, before the crowd scrambled to safety as bullets rang out across the park
Police said that the shooting at Young Park comes as the area has been ‘troubled with crime’ in recent years
Las Cruces Police Chief Jeremy Story (pictured) said unsanctioned car shows have ‘become an issue’ in the area as cops face a crimewave
Story said that the shooting at Young Park comes as the area has been ‘troubled with crime’ in recent years.
He said unsanctioned car shows have ‘become an issue’, with the car meets at Young Park reportedly emerging every week.
Story slammed New Mexico officials for a lack of funding for the police department as he described the shooting as an example of ‘the utter lack of fear of accountability in New Mexico.’
The state’s governor Michelle Lujan Grisham said in a statement that she was moving resources to bolster the investigation into the shooting, which she said left her ‘heartbroken and horrified.’
Lujan Grisham criticized the state legislature for failing to step in amid ‘the disturbing rise in violent crime in Las Cruces’, which she branded a ‘public safety crisis.’
‘The indiscriminate nature of this shooting is both shocking and unacceptable, but sadly not surprising,’ the governor said.
Officials locked down the area around Young Park following the shooting as the investigation continues.