A New Mexico woman is in custody after her 10-year-old son allegedly shot and killed a 16-year-old girl during a fight over loud music at an Albuquerque apartment complex.
Elaina Gomez-Villeda is charged with murder, conspiracy to commit a felony, child abuse, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, negligently making a firearm accessible to a minor, battery and receiving stolen property, according to jail records.
The shooting took place at about 4 p.m. on Saturday in the 200 block of Tennessee Street. A criminal complaint obtained by local KOAT states that Gomez-Villeda went to her neighbors’ apartment to ask them to turn down their music. The victim was identified as Keinerlein Rangel.
The request led to a fistfight involving Gomez-Villeda, Keinerlein and Keinerlein’s mother. Police wrote that the 10-year-old boy tried to intervene, and that his mother allegedly told him to “retrieve a gun from their apartment.”
According to police, the boy took the gun and went back outside, where he fired at least one shot at Keinerlein, killing her. Gomez-Villeda and the boy then went back into the apartment.
When officers arrived, they heard a gunshot from inside the apartment. Gomez-Villeda then allegedly came outside holding a gun, and one officer fired at her but missed. She dropped the weapon and was taken into custody.
During questioning, the defendant claimed that she was the one who fired the shot inside the apartment. She said Keinerlein’s father was trying to force his way in, and that she called 911.
“I thought we were gonna die; these people, they do it a lot, and I didn’t think I was gonna be the target, but it is what it is,” she said, according to ABQRaw.
She also sent a text message to her husband, which read, “I’m probably going to jail right now,” according to the complaint.
Authorities are still weighing whether to file criminal charges against the 10-year-old boy. His mother remains at the Metropolitan Detention Center without bond.
The charges against Gomez-Villeda are allegations, and she is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.