JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
Today brings the first of three funerals for the teenage victims of last Friday's mass shooting in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Three of four suspects arrested are also teens, and New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham is telling state lawmakers to expect a special legislative session focused on public safety. Jonny Coker with member station KRWG in Las Cruces reports. And a warning - this story includes the sound of gunshots.
JONNY COKER, BYLINE: The shooting happened at what Las Cruces police are calling an unsanctioned car show at Young Park, a popular live music and events venue. The meetups have become common at the park. Enthusiasts show off their vehicles and sometimes skid around the parking lot in chaotic and dangerous fashion, as shown in this video obtained by Las Cruces Police.
(SOUNDBITE OF CAR ENGINES REVVING)
COKER: These car shows have prompted police intervention in the past. Last Friday, an altercation at one of the meetups turned into a barrage of gunfire, as recorded in cell phone video also cited by police.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: Oh, no.
(SOUNDBITE OF GUNSHOTS)
COKER: Three teenagers were shot and killed. Fifteen others were wounded. Twenty-one-year-old Zanaya Hernandez was at the event with her brother.
ZANAYA HERNANDEZ: They did shoot our car. They did get our car and our tire. I mean, I'm OK. My brother's OK.
COKER: Four suspects have been arrested so far, three of them juveniles. Hernandez says the event was packed.
HERNANDEZ: And then out of nowhere, just people dead, and families are hurt and...
COKER: New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham says there needs to be a special state legislative session on public safety in wake of the shooting. She tried one last year. It only lasted five hours, and lawmakers bypassed most of her agenda. Lujan Grisham called it, quote, "one of the most disappointing days" in her career.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
JEREMY STORY: Police chiefs from across the state and the New Mexico Association of Chiefs of Police have been screaming from the rooftops about a very serious juvenile violent crime problem we have in New Mexico.
COKER: This is Las Cruces Police Chief Jeremy Story at a press conference a few days after the shooting.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
STORY: This is not about politics, but it is about policy.
COKER: Story has been advocating for criminal justice reform since last year. He wants lawmakers to make it easier for district attorneys to try juveniles as adults for some serious crimes.
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STORY: DAs across New Mexico have been sounding the alarm on juvenile crime, yet nothing meaningful was accomplished at our last legislative session to address these dire concerns.
COKER: Governor Lujan Grisham has not yet formally called a new special session. Meanwhile, Las Cruces mourns
UNIDENTIFIED GROUP: (Singing) It's your breath in our lungs, so we pour out our praise, we pour out our praise. It's your breath...
COKER: Local pastor Joshua De La O helped organize this vigil for victims shortly after the shooting.
JOSHUA DE LA O: Even if people weren't involved and weren't there, there's always a sense of insecurity, a sense of fear. So even that - overcoming that as a community, we have a lot of work ahead of us there.
UNIDENTIFIED GROUP: (Singing) Our hearts will cry. These bones will...
COKER: The three people killed in the shooting were 16-year-old Andrew Madrid, 18-year-old Jason Gomez and 19-year-old Dominick Estrada. A memorial for one of the victims is today, followed by a vigil organized by a local social justice nonprofit. Zanaya Hernandez, who witnessed the shooting, says car meets like the one it happened at aren't the problem.
HERNANDEZ: We can still have fun. We can still get together. We can show off our cars without families getting hurt, without people, you know, dropping to the ground.
COKER: For NPR News, I'm Jonny Coker in Las Cruces, New Mexico.
(SOUNDBITE OF MARCUS MUMFORD AND TOM HOWE'S "NIGHTINGALE") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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