A suspect in connection with the University of New Mexico shooting that left one person dead and another injured Friday morning has been taken into custody.
The arrest was made at 2:30 p.m. Friday by U.S. Marshals at an apartment on Canal Boulevard in Los Lunas, according to the Valencia County Sheriff’s Office. The suspect’s identity has not yet been released.
The incident unfolded in the early hours of Friday morning when UNM Police Department officers responded to reports of gunfire at Casas del Rio (Gila), a student housing complex located at 420 Redondo Drive NE on UNM’s central Albuquerque campus. Upon arrival, officers discovered two individuals with gunshot wounds. One victim was pronounced dead at the scene, while the other sustained non-life-threatening injuries and is currently receiving medical care.
The fatal shooting prompted an emergency campus closure and a large-scale police response. As a precautionary measure, UNM officially closed its Albuquerque central campus for the day. Earlier in the day, university officials had urged students, faculty and staff to shelter in place and avoid the central campus area, as the suspect was initially believed to be at large and potentially still on campus.
Friday afternoon, UNM Police conducted a “staged, tactical evacuation” of campus, advising those on campus not to move without UNM Police direction. Multiple law enforcement agencies were on site and actively investigating the situation.
UNM President Garnett S. Stokes said in a statement Friday that “multiple shots were fired in the early morning” at the student housing facility.
“The safety of our campus and our community remains our utmost priority,” Stokes said in the statement.
The campus remains closed Friday, and Stokes indicated an increased law enforcement presence “on and around campus in the coming days.”
Marianna Anaya, New Mexico State House Representative for District 18, which includes UNM, CNM, and the Nob Hill and university areas, released a statement expressing her condolences.
“My deepest condolences go out to the individuals, families, and communities impacted by the tragic shooting that took place early this morning at the University of New Mexico,” Anaya said, adding that it was “heartbreaking that this occurred during the time of a new student orientation.”