When the New Mexico legislative session closed at noon on Saturday, the normally celebratory mood was dampened by fatal shootings in Las Cruces a few hours earlier.
Police have now taken a fourth suspect into custody in connection with Friday night’s gunfire at Young Park that left three people dead and fifteen others wounded.
All four suspects—one 15, two of them 17, and one 20 years old—could face murder charges.
Additional charges are expected as the investigation continues.
Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham held a somber press conference Saturday afternoon, and stated that she was disappointed with the number of public safety bills that passed.
So disappointed, in fact, that despite the pushback from her own party during last year’s special session on public safety, the governor is considering calling for another one this year.
“ I think as people have to deal with this situation in Las Cruces, I believe you won't have the same opposition to a special session," Lujan Grisham said.
"Now with that said, my job isn't to worry about the feelings of a legislator. My job is to do what's right for the families who have been impacted today and every day by the fact that crime is a crisis in New Mexico.”
Authorities say the shooting broke out shortly after 10 p.m. Friday during what Las Cruces police chief Jeremy Story called an “unsanctioned car show.”
Victims range in age from 16 to 36. Two of the young men killed died at the scene; a third passed away later at a hospital.
House Speaker Javier Martinez called the violence a painful reminder of the work still ahead, while House Minority Leader Gail Armstrong and other Republicans pointed fingers at the Democratic legislators.
Armstrong said that, “New Mexicans are tired of lip service.”
This year’s session saw lawmakers advance several public safety proposals—including tougher penalties for mass shooting threats, updates to the red-flag gun law, and expanded authority to prosecute organized crime.
But the governor said that juvenile crime laws in the state need to be tougher.
“ Today we are dealing with youthful offenders who are fully armed like a militia," the governor said.
"Shooting out of their cars, attempting to take firearms into schools. You should assume they're at every park. They're at every theater. They're at every church gathering. They're at every party.
"They believe they are free from consequences and the adults who help arm them literally tell them so.”
Gov. Lujan Grisham said at her Cabinet Room briefing that out of 270 public safety bills introduced at the session, only 18 passed.
