Teen Halloween party shooting detailed in incident report

Police investigate juvenile Halloween party shooting

Rio Rancho Police Department confirmed Oct. 30 that shots were fired at a Halloween party in…

RIO RANCHO — At least two shooters were involved in the shooting at a Halloween party Oct. 26 in Enchanted Hills, according to an incident report released by Rio Rancho Police Department Nov. 13.

According to the report, police responded to multiple 911 calls about shots fired in the street around 10:45 p.m. The callers told police that a person wearing a “pimp costume” had an AR-15-style rifle concealed in their pants and dozens of kids were fleeing from the home and multiple cars driving away from the area.

As police arrived they saw multiple individuals leaving the area on foot via the sidewalk and roadway, as well as multiple cars exiting the neighborhood. Individuals directed officers to the home where the shooting had taken place.

Officers spoke with multiple witnesses, residents and the homeowner. There were still subjects exiting the home after officers arrived on scene, many of whom were wearing Halloween costumes.

The person hosting the party told police a large group of individuals, who had supposedly left from a separate party, were making their way into the home. They added that after more and more people began to show up, they began to try and kick people out of the home and put a stop to the party. They and another person were attempting to escort people out when someone at the party began to get into an argument with an unknown person described as darker skinned with dark eyes, curly hair, and wearing a black and gold money/pimp suit with a hat. During this argument, one punched the other in the face, and the two began to fight.

They said one of them pulled out a pistol from their waistband and another person left briefly but returned with a rifle. The host retreated to a room to hide under a desk and said they heard about 10 shots fired off inside the house.

Two other witnesses confirmed this story. One added they thought the gun had a switch on it because of the rate of fire. Witnesses also told police that while in the home, the two suspects began to say “where’s that bitch at?” referring to the person they were previously arguing with. One of the witnesses added that they were backhanded by one of the suspects.

The homeowner told officers they were not home during the incident but received a call about it and came home. They told police they knew about the party but that they weren’t aware of how big the party had gotten. Ring camera footage of the incident from the home allowed police to identify the suspect.

Near the home, multiple casings from two types of guns were found.

One of the neighbors was able to provide footage of the incident, which showed a commotion on the street with multiple people hurriedly leaving the area. Police note they could then see an individual with a rifle walking to the side of the house, raise the gun to the sky and fire multiple rounds. They note they could also see the flash of another firearm going off, indicating at least two shooters were involved.

After this shooting, Bernalillo Police officers made contact with a group of juveniles at McDonald’s (1390 Rio Rancho Blvd. SE), who said they were at the party when the shooting took place and provided the name of one of the possible shooters, which police later identified as a juvenile who was recently expelled from Rio Rancho High School.

The charge that the suspects face is negligent use of a deadly weapon, which can result in six months in prison and a fine of $500. Since the suspects and witnesses are juvenile, their names have been redacted from the incident report.