Chris Carnero’s family urges action on youth violence and gun safety

Chris Carnero’s family stood outside Las Cruces City Hall on Monday and turned a private tragedy into a public demand for action. Janel and Manny Carnero, speaking for the first time since their 13-year-old son was shot and later declared brain dead, joined lawmakers and advocates in calling for tougher responses to juvenile violence and safer access to guns.

The case has shaken Las Cruces because of where it happened and who was involved. Police said Chris was shot just before 10:30 p.m. on March 30 at his family’s home near Picacho Middle School. Another 13-year-old boy was arrested in connection with the shooting. Initial charges included negligent use of a deadly weapon and minor in possession of a deadly weapon, and by April 6 the case had advanced to involuntary manslaughter in the juvenile system in Doña Ana County.

Janel Carnero said the family had talked with their children about gun safety about two weeks before the shooting. She said the gun did not belong to the family and that they did not know another child had brought a gun into the home. She also described the moment the family learned Chris was brain dead and said they moved toward organ donation after that.

The press conference drew a broad political and civic mix, including Las Cruces Police Department officer Bradley, state Sen. Crystal Diamond Brantley, state Sen. Bill Soules, child advocate Angela Garcia of Toy Box Learning Centers and Marci Dickerson. Their appearance put the Carnero family’s loss into a wider policy debate over how New Mexico should respond to youth access to firearms, school safety expectations and prevention efforts before a case turns fatal.

The timing carried added weight in Las Cruces, where the Young Park shooting on March 21, 2025, killed three teenagers and injured 15 others. Just days before the Carnero news conference, U.S. Rep. Gabe Vasquez held a public-safety roundtable in Las Cruces with Police Chief Jeremy Story, Mayor Eric Enriquez and City Manager Ikani Taumoepeau to talk about youth safety and prevention.

The debate is not just local emotion. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says firearm injuries were the leading cause of death among U.S. children and teens ages 1 to 19 in 2020 and 2021. Its New Mexico profile lists a 2023 firearm injury death rate of 25.3 per 100,000 and a homicide rate of 14.7 per 100,000. In Las Cruces, the city says it maintains annual crime statistics, monthly uniform crime reports and other transparency reports, data that will likely remain central as families and lawmakers weigh what policy changes can actually stop another child from being lost.