1 dead in shooting at University of New Mexico dorm; another wounded, suspect arrested and charged

A 14-year-old is dead and another person is injured after an early morning shooting at a dormitory complex at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, authorities said Friday. 

The suspect was identified as John Fuentes, 18, and was located and arrested around 2:30 p.m. local time, about 13 hours after police initially responded to the shooting, New Mexico State Police said in a statement. Fuentes was charged with murder in the first degree, aggravated battery, aggravated assault, and tampering with evidence, the NMSP said.  

The incident occurred at the school’s Casas del Rio (Gila) student housing center, according to a statement by UNM President Garnett S. Stokes. The injured victim is currently hospitalized.

Four people were playing video games in a dorm room when, “for reasons we’re still investigating,” the suspect began shooting a firearm at the other occupants in the room, New Mexico State Police Chief Troy Weisler said in a news conference Friday night. The 14-year-old was fatally shot and later found in the dorm; the other people, including a 19-year-old and the suspect, fled. Police didn’t immediately give the age of the fourth person. The student whose dorm the shooting took place in was one of the four people, police said.

Police responded to an alarm at the dorm building at approximately 1:36 a.m. local time and found broken windows and what appeared to be blood at the scene, Weisler said. At 2:30 a.m., a hospital reported that a 19-year-old man had arrived with a gunshot wound, who said he’d been shot on campus. Police also received a phone call from a woman who said a relative on campus heard gunshots. Upon a sweep of nearby buildings, police found the deceased 14-year-old inside the dorm. 

Campus police said they received the report of gunshots “in the early morning hours” on Friday. The school first posted about the incident at 3:27 a.m.

New Mexico State Police took over the investigation at 3:45 a.m., Weisler said. Fuentes was located and taken into custody without incident around 2:30 p.m., the state police said. 

Campus will be open Saturday with all planned activities, UNM said on its website Friday night. Central campus had been closed “out of an abundance of caution,” the school said earlier in the day on social media. Students were asked to shelter in place, and multiple law enforcement agencies were on the scene, the university had said. 

State Rep. Marianna Anaya said in a statement that the shooting occurred during new student orientation, “a time when students and their families should be filled with hope, excitement, and a sense of possibility.”

“Instead, the sense of safety for students and residents across our city has been impacted,” Anaya said. “Our youth, whether they are on or off campus, should not experience this kind of trauma.”

The school is providing counseling services for students, faculty and staff, Stokes said. “I am deeply saddened by the loss of life and horrified by this act of violence in our campus community,” she said. “Our thoughts and prayers go to the loved ones and friends of those lost and injured.” 

The University of New Mexico is a public university in Albuquerque. About 22,000 students are enrolled there.