A mass shooting at a park in the desert city of Las Cruces, New Mexico, killed at least three people and injured 14, according to police on Saturday.
Police asked bystanders on Saturday to share videos and other information as they searched for a suspect or suspects in the attack, which occurred around 10 p.m. Friday in the city’s Young Park, a music and recreation venue.
According to police and hospital officials, gunshot victims were transported to all three local hospitals as well as the regional trauma center, the University Medical Center of El Paso.
According to marketing and communications director Andrew Cummins, six patients arrived at Memorial Medical Center in Las Cruces via ambulance and private car, with five of them being transported to El Paso.
In an Instagram post on Saturday, Las Cruces City Councilor and Mayor Pro Tem Johana Bencomo put a number to the tragedy.
“Part of me wanted to write that this is something you never really think this is going to happen in your city, but that actually feels deeply untrue,” she put in. “Honestly now days a tragedy like this feels like a nightmare just waiting to come true at any possible moment, yet also always praying and hoping it never will.”
Las Cruces, located on the edge of the Chihuahuan Desert along the Rio Grande River in southern New Mexico, is approximately 41 miles (66 kilometers) north of the US-Mexico border.
According to the Las Cruces Police Department, officers and firefighters who responded to reports of gunfire at the park are being assisted in their investigation by New Mexico State Police, the Dona Ana County Sheriff’s Office, the FBI, and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives agents.
According to local media reports, the department was still on the scene Saturday, and traffic was closed in the area surrounding the park.
