The police in the state of New Mexico in the United States stated that in the early hours of Friday, July 25, a shooting incident occurred at a student dormitory at the University of New Mexico, resulting in the death of a 14-year-old boy and injury to a 19-year-old boy. The suspect has been charged with multiple counts including first-degree murder and appeared in court via video conference on Saturday, the 26th.
The authorities in New Mexico identified the suspect as 18-year-old John Fuentes. He was detained in Valencia County, New Mexico, a few hours after the shooting incident took place.
According to information released by the police, Fuentes is being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center and faces charges of first-degree murder, aggravated battery, aggravated assault, and tampering with evidence.
On Saturday morning, Fuentes made his first court appearance via Zoom at the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court. During the transfer of the case to the state court of New Mexico, Fuentes will remain in custody without bail and is scheduled for another court appearance next week.
State Police Chief Troy Weisler mentioned during a press conference on Friday evening that at the time of the incident, there were four individuals playing video games in the dormitory. Suddenly, for reasons yet to be determined, the suspect started firing at the others in the room. A 14-year-old boy lost his life, while others fled the scene, including the suspect himself.
ABC News reported that court documents revealed that the shooter, Fuentes, allegedly arrived on the University of New Mexico campus around 8 p.m. on Thursday in a car registered under his father’s name.
Authorities stated that around 1:36 a.m. on Friday, University of New Mexico officers received a distress call. Upon arriving at the scene, they found broken windows and what appeared to be bloodstains.
Around 2:30 p.m. on Friday, the authorities pinpointed the suspect’s location and apprehended him in Bernalillo County.
Investigators believe this to be an isolated incident. Following the incident, the university temporarily closed its main campus located in Albuquerque. The University of New Mexico announced on its website on Friday evening that the campus would reopen on Saturday and continue with all planned activities.