Two individuals have been apprehended in connection with the tragic shooting of an 11-year-old boy, Froylan Villegas, outside a baseball stadium in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on September 6. Police have identified the suspects as Jose Romero, 22, and Nathen Garley, 21, both of whom are now in custody.
Police Chief Harold Medina, during a news conference, stated that the incident, which occurred after an Albuquerque Isotopes baseball game, appears to be a case of mistaken identity. He also expressed his sentiments in a tweet, condemning the perpetrators as "cowards" who thought they were tough but took the life of an innocent child.
Romero was arrested on Thursday evening. He had been wanted for failing to appear in court in connection with alleged drug dealing. Garley, on the other hand, was already in custody when arrested.
State Police Chief W. Troy Weisler revealed that Garley had been stopped by police on September 13 while returning from Arizona. During the stop, law enforcement discovered a firearm and approximately 100,000 fentanyl tablets in the vehicle.
Subsequent investigations connected him to the boy's death. It remains unclear if either of the men has legal representation.
Police have also suggested that both individuals are affiliated with gangs and had driven up in a car to target a pickup truck leaving the minor league game at the stadium.
Tragically, Froylan lost his life, and his cousin, Tatiana Villegas, was left paralyzed from the waist down as more than a dozen shots were fired. Froylan's mother and younger brother were also in the truck but escaped injury, with two bullets narrowly missing the younger child.
Initially, police considered the possibility of a road rage incident.
However, it was later revealed that Romero and Garley had an ongoing feud with another man, and there had been a confrontation during the game. The man drove a white Dodge pickup truck, similar to the one Froylan and his family were in.
Police spokesperson Gilbert Gallegos explained that it is believed the suspects confused the two vehicles, leading to the tragic shooting.
Gallegos further mentioned that investigators used cellphone data and social media to track the movements of several individuals. The day after the shooting, the man who had been in a feud with Romero sent him a message on Instagram, indicating that they had shot at the wrong truck.
This shooting, one of several involving children, prompted New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham to issue a controversial gun ban.
The order faced opposition from Republican lawmakers and gun rights groups and was temporarily restrained by a federal judge, pending another court hearing next month. US District Judge David Urias expressed concerns that the original order could infringe on people's right to carry firearms publicly for self-defense, potentially causing them "irreparable harm." Grisham later limited the order to public parks and playgrounds frequented by children and their families.
Meanwhile in Denver, Colorado, authorities are on the hunt for a woman, Keanna Rosenburgh, who is responsible for a shooting that left five people injured outside a local bar. See detailed story here
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