At least three people were killed and 14 others were injured in a mass shooting at a park in the desert city of Las Cruces, New Mexico, police have said.
Gunshot victims ranging in age from 16 to 36 were sent to all three local hospitals, as well as to the University Medical Center of El Paso, the regional trauma centre, according to police and hospital officials on Saturday.
Of six patients who arrived at Memorial Medical Center in Las Cruces by ambulance and private car, five were sent to El Paso, said marketing and communications director Andrew Cummins.
Those who died were two 19-year-old men and a 16-year-old boy, police said. Their names and those of other victims were not yet being released.
Police were asking for bystanders to share videos and other tips as they continued to seek a suspect or suspects in the attack, which occurred at about 10 pm on Friday in the city's Young Park, a music and recreation venue. A news conference was scheduled for later on Saturday.
The United States has a mass shooting problem. In 2022 alone, there have been over 300 mass shootings, defined as an incident in which four or more people are shot, excluding the shooter. This epidemic of gun violence has led many to question whether it is a symptom of a larger problem in American society.
‘Feels deeply untrue’
In a post to Instagram on Saturday, Las Cruces City Councilor and Mayor Pro Tem Johana Bencomo expressed grief at the tragedy.
“Part of me wanted to write that this is something you never really think this is going to happen in your city, but that actually feels deeply untrue,” she wrote.
“Honestly now days a tragedy like this feels like a nightmare just waiting to come true at any possible moment, yet also always praying and hoping it never will,” she added.
Las Cruces sits on the edge of the Chihuahuan Desert along the Rio Grande River in southern New Mexico, about 41 miles (66 kilometres) north of the US-Mexican border.
The Las Cruces Police Department said they were being assisted in their investigation by New Mexico State Police, the Dona Ana County Sheriff’s Office, the FBI and agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
The department was still on scene on Saturday and the area around the park was closed to traffic, according to local media reports.
