An 18-year-old was arrested in connection to a shooting at the University of New Mexico on Friday, July 25 that left a 14-year-old dead and another injured, police said. John Fuentes is now charged with murder in the first degree, aggravated battery, aggravated assault and tampering with evidence.
The university sent out alerts around 3:27 a.m. local time Friday telling students to shelter in place because of a “shooting incident.”
New Mexico State police said four people were hanging out in the university’s Casas del Rio dormitory when, for reasons authorities are still investigating, Fuentes allegedly started shooting a firearm at the other individuals in the room. The suspect, as well as the other person in the room, fled. The 14-year-old was pronounced dead at the scene, and another person sustained non-life-threatening gunshot wounds, police said.
Fuentes was later located and arrested by New Mexico State Police on Friday afternoon, authorities said, adding this was an isolated incident.
The University of New Mexico’s fall semester is scheduled to start on Aug. 18. While the campus was closed on July 25, it re-opened with all planned activities on Saturday, July 26.
