Northern Meadows Park Shooting Details Released; Suspect Still Unidentified

A Bernalillo County Sheriff's Office deputy's wife received a gunshot alert on her phone before her husband drove to Clayton Meadows Park in Northern Meadows and found a 19-year-old Rio Rancho man shot three times in the upper left shoulder. That detail, included in police narratives released to the Rio Rancho Observer on March 17, offers one of the few firsthand accounts to emerge from the March 11 shooting as investigators say they still have not identified a suspect.

According to those narratives, the deputy patrolled the area after his wife's notification, found the victim at the park, and rendered aid until EMS arrived and transported the man to the hospital. He told police he did not see any suspects at the scene.

Five unidentified people were detained in relation to the incident, but the Rio Rancho Police Department has not named a suspect or announced any charges. EMS found a driver's license on the ground at the scene, and the person identified on that ID has been designated a person of interest, the narratives indicate.

Forensic work added detail to the trajectory of the shooting. Crime scene technicians noted that the path of the bullet showed it was fired from above the door handle of the victim's car, suggesting the shooter was positioned higher than or alongside the vehicle when the rounds were fired.

The investigation extended beyond Rio Rancho that same day. Police pulled over a silver Dodge Charger in Albuquerque, and crime scene technicians assisted with the vehicle. From that stop, investigators collected a 10 millimeter Glock 29, a HiLight Gun Light, a rifle modification and a gun magazine, according to the narratives.

The shooting prompted a multi-agency response involving RRPD, BCSO, EMS, and law enforcement in Albuquerque. Key questions remain unanswered in the public record, including whether the five detained individuals face charges, the identity of the person of interest, and whether ballistics tests have connected any of the seized weapons to the three wounds sustained by the victim.