At least three people were killed and five others were injured in a shooting Saturday during a popular motorcycle rally at a New Mexico resort town, according to officials.
The extent of injuries in the shooting in the town of Red River was unavailable. New Mexico State Police said one of the wounded was flown to Denver for treatment.
“I can confirm 3 dead and 5 injured,” Red River Mayor Linda Calhoun said. One person died at the hospital, she said.
The five people who were injured were receiving medical care, state police said.
In a a video interview with the Questa Del Rio News, Calhoun said the shooters had been apprehended in the incident, which involved motorcycle gang members. Calhoun later confirmed those details to NBC News.
State police did not provide any information about arrests or who may have been involved. Police said the scene is secure and there is “no ongoing threat to public safety.”
The gunfire happened about 5 p.m. on the town’s Main Street, near two retail stores, Calhoun said.
State police said earlier in the evening that it was investigating a shooting in the town.
The Phoenix field division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said the federal agency is assisting state police in the investigation.
The resort town of 675, northeast of Taos in a range at the southern end of the Rocky Mountains, was expecting nearly 30,000 people over the weekend as part of the 41st annual Red River Memorial Motorcycle Rally.
Events connected to the rally include music performances, according a website for the event.
In a post on the town’s Facebook page, Calhoun said the crime scene included most of Main Street. State and local law enforcement recommended only essential businesses outside the investigation area stay open, and requested that others remain closed Sunday, she said.
Albuquerque Police Chief Harold Medina said in a tweet that he was having dinner with his wife in Red River at the time of the shooting, and that he is originally from the town, which is about 170 miles northeast of Albuquerque.
“Prayers for all impacted by todays [sic] shooting in my hometown,” Medina tweeted.
“What a helpless feeling not having a badge, gun or radio as State Police officers and others enter the restaurant and slowly everything closes down and you don’t even know if you can get to your car or if it’s in the scene,” he added.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said she was in contact with Calhoun and law enforcement regarding the shooting. “My thoughts are with the Red River community following this violent incident,” she tweeted.
In a joint statement, New Mexico Senators Martin Heinrich and Ben Ray Luján, and Representatives Teresa Leger Fernández, Melanie Stansbury and Gabe Vasquez, said they are “heartsick” over the shooting, adding that it “desecrated a decades-old, cherished community gathering.”
The politicians also called for greater action to prevent gun violence, noting that the Red River shooting came less than two weeks after an 18-year-old gunman fatally shot three elderly women and wounded two police officers in Farmington, a city 230 miles west of Red River.
“We cannot let these events become normal,” they said. “We must do more to prevent gun violence.”
Source: NBC
