Vasquez addresses Las Cruces mass shooting, calls for action and accountability

Damien Willis, Organ Mountain News

LAS CRUCES - U.S. Rep. Gabe Vasquez on Sunday called for unity, accountability and immediate action in the wake of Friday night’s mass shooting at Young Park — a tragedy he described as both personal and community-wide.

“This is my community, this is my city, it’s my county,” Vasquez said during a press conference at Plaza de Las Cruces. “And this week, we experienced a devastating tragedy.”

The shooting left three teenagers dead and at least 15 other individuals injured. Four suspects have been arrested, including three juveniles and a 20-year-old man. Vasquez, who previously served on the Las Cruces City Council, said the incident occurred in his former district and has shaken the community deeply.

“My heart is with the families and their children, with every person in our community who’s grieving, who’s frightened and who’s angry,” he said. “I want you to know that you’re not alone.”

‘We owe it to the victims’

Vasquez said the city must now reckon with difficult questions — including how the suspects obtained firearms and why young people are turning to violence.

“We owe it to the victims to ask hard questions and demand clear answers,” he said. “We need to know how this happened, what signs were missed, and how we can close those gaps that allowed this violence to unfold.”

He pointed to youth access to weapons as a central concern.

“Sixteen- and 17-year-olds in Las Cruces should not be riding around with firearms unregulated nearly in the middle of the night,” he said. “Why do they have access to these firearms in the first place?”

Gun safety and personal responsibility

Vasquez, a legal gun owner, urged others to safely store their firearms. He said he’s introduced federal legislation — Ethan’s Law — that would require secure storage and hold gun owners accountable when they fail to do so.

“My best advice would be to anybody who’s a legal gun owner like myself is to lock up your firearms,” he said. “You’ll be doing a favor to the families who were lost in this last event.”

Local police stretched thin

Vasquez said he met with Las Cruces police to discuss the department’s response to the shooting, as well as its long-term resource needs.

“Our police department here is stretched very thin,” he said. “They have a lot of places to be, and they have high-priority calls that they need to attend to.”

He expressed support for the department’s work and said he’s backing federal legislation — including the Invest to Protect Act — to help fund local law enforcement agencies.

“I think the Las Cruces Police Department has done a fantastic job in tracking down the perpetrators of this event that happened at Young Park,” he said.

Support center open for victims

Vasquez urged anyone affected by the shooting to seek support at the Family Assistance and Resource Center, which opened Sunday at the Las Cruces Convention Center. It will remain open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday and Tuesday.

“Whether they were a victim actually there, or they just feel victimized because of that, they’re welcome to stop by,” he said. “There are advocates, there’s service dogs — if you want, you just need to look at a friendly dog.”

Scale of violence shocks community

Asked about the scale of the tragedy — now considered the largest mass shooting in New Mexico in at least 35 years by the total number of people killed and wounded — Vasquez said the violence should serve as a call to action.

“This was a disgusting and horrific display of violence that should never be accepted in our society — here in southern New Mexico, in Las Cruces, or anywhere,” he said.

He described the aftermath as chaotic and traumatic, especially for young people and families who witnessed or were caught in the crossfire.

“There were children there, and there were adults there,” he said. “There are people who should know better than to take part in these events, and so that leads to chaos. That led to the events that happened at Young Park.”

He said the emotional toll of the shooting will not fade quickly.

“You don’t expect that when your 16- or 17-year-old leaves a house on a Saturday night, they may end up the victim of gun violence,” he said. “Potentially die, or be sent to a hospital and be in critical condition.”

‘We need to do a better job’

As the community grieves, Vasquez said the response cannot stop with arrests or press conferences.

“We need to do a better job as a community, as parents, as a village — which it takes to raise kids — to make sure this doesn’t happen again,” he said.

He closed with a message to grieving families.

“To the families of the victims, I stand with you,” he said. “I will fight for justice, for answers, and for a future where our children can live without fear.”

Damien Willis is founder and editor of Organ Mountain News. He can be reached at OrganMountainNews@gmail.com or on X at @damienwillis.