Video and 911 calls played by police detail chaos from deadly shooting in New Mexico

Police released video footage and 911 emergency calls Tuesday depicting chilling scenes of people running in panic as gunfire crackled in a New Mexico park where three people were killed and 15 others were wounded during an unauthorized car show.

One of the video recordings, taken by a bystander and shown by Las Cruces Police Chief Jeremy Story at a news conference, captures a blue Mustang doing donuts in a parking lot Friday night just before gunfire erupts and people scatter.

The man recording the cellphone video is heard saying, “Oh my god, I just witnessed a murder!” before it ends. The police chief credited the man for putting his phone away and helping the wounded.

Authorities said the shooting at Young Park followed an altercation between two groups during a gathering of about 200 people. In court documents, prosecutors described it as one of the most horrific incidents to occur in Las Cruces, located about 40 miles (70 kilometers) from the U.S.-Mexico border.

Story said it was a massive and chaotic scene.

He showed police body camera footage of officers helping gunshot victims — one tends to a man shot in the arm and leg, while another wraps a bandage around a woman who is crying. An officer tells her to keep breathing and assures her things will be OK.

In one of the 911 audio recordings, the dispatcher asks a caller how many people were hurt. “I don’t know, it looks like multiple,” he says, trying to catch his breath.

Some of the wounded were bystanders who were not involved in the dispute between the two groups. Authorities said the groups had past personal issues.

“This is not a traditional active shooter event where the motive or motivation is to kill and injure as many people as you can, as quickly as you can,” Story said. “Unfortunately, the results were the same.”

Four people are facing murder charges, including three teenagers. The police chief said more arrests and charges are possible, but he did not elaborate because of the ongoing investigation.

Las Cruces Mayor Eric Enriquez said during the news conference that hearts are heavy with sorrow in his community because of the shooting.

“Let me be clear, this incident will not be tolerated in our community," he said. “We stand united against violence in all of its forms.”

The shooting is the latest instance of violent crime involving juveniles to rock New Mexico. From Las Cruces to Albuquerque, police chiefs and prosecutors have been pleading with the Democratic-controlled Legislature to reform the juvenile justice system and address widespread public safety concerns. Authorities say young people believe no consequences exist for criminal actions.

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said lawmakers should expect a special session to address crime.

Those facing first-degree murder charges in the Las Cruces shooting are Tomas Rivas, 20, along with two 17-year-olds and a 15-year-old. The Associated Press typically does not name suspects younger than 18.

Investigators interviewed multiple witnesses who identified two of the shooters by name. They also said those two suspects allegedly dumped firearms at an apartment complex afterward. Officers followed Rivas and one of the teens there and detained them after watching the teen toss a bag into a dumpster, they said.

Story said investigators believe they've recovered all firearms connected to those arrested. He said three of the guns were reported stolen.

The dozens of shell casings found at the park matched the caliber of the guns recovered, according to court documents.

Rivas made a brief court appearance Monday, while the teens appeared Tuesday in children's court, where a judge ordered them to remain in custody. Prosecutors said they want to charge them as adults. They are also seeking to keep Rivas in custody pending trial, and a hearing was expected in the coming days.

At the time of the shooting, Rivas was prohibited from possessing a firearm because of a pending case in El Paso County, Texas, according to prosecutors. They said he's facing charges there of evading arrest and smuggling of persons.

Rivas’ public defender has not returned messages from The Associated Press seeking comment. The state public defender’s office is also representing the teens, but declined to comment.

Andrew Madrid, 16, and Jason Gomez, 18, died at the scene. Dominick Estrada, 19, died later at a hospital. The wounded ranged in age from 16 to 36 and were treated at the park or taken to hospitals.

Las Cruces Police Department Chief Jeremy Story, from left, City Manager Ikani Taumoepeau and Mayor Eric Enriquez address a news conference about a fatal shooting at Young Park at Las Cruces City Hall in Las Cruses, N.M. Tuesday, March 25, 2025. (Algernon D'Ammassa/The Albuquerque Journal via AP)

A bullet hole on a tree is seen at the site of a shooting in the parking lot of Young Park in Las Cruces, N.M., on Sunday, March 23, 2025. (Chancey Bush/The Albuquerque Journal via AP)

Family and friends mourn shooting victims during a vigil Young Park in Las Cruces, N.M., on Sunday, March 23, 2025. (Chancey Bush/The Albuquerque Journal via AP)

Family members of victim Jason Gomez mourn during a vigil at Young Park in Las Cruces, N.M., on Sunday, March 23, 2025. (Chancey Bush/The Albuquerque Journal via AP)

Tire tread marks are seen a the site of a shooting in the parking lot of Young Park in Las Cruces, N.M., on Sunday, March 23, 2025. (Chancey Bush/The Albuquerque Journal via AP)

A Las Cruces SWAT vehicle passes by the site of a shooting Young Park in Las Cruces, N.M., on Sunday, March 23, 2024. (Chancey Bush/The Albuquerque Journal via AP)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The top vaccine official with the Food and Drug Administration has resigned and criticized the nation’s top health official for allowing “misinformation and lies” to guide his thinking behind the safety of vaccinations.

Dr. Peter Marks sent a letter to Acting FDA Commissioner Sara Brenner on Friday saying that he would resign and retire by April 5 as director of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research.

In his letter, which was obtained by The Associated Press, Marks said he was “willing to work” to address the concerns expressed by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., about the safety of vaccinations. But he concluded that wasn't possible.

“It has become clear that truth and transparency are not desired by the Secretary, but rather he wishes subservient confirmation of his misinformation and lies,” he wrote.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services did not respond to a request for comment.

Marks was offered the choice of resigning or being fired by Kennedy, according to a former FDA official familiar with the discussions, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he didn’t have permission to discuss the matter publicly.

Kennedy has a long history of spreading anti-vaccine misinformation, although during his Senate confirmation hearings he seemed to say he would not undermine vaccines. He promised the chair of the Senate health committee that he would not change existing vaccine recommendations.

Since becoming commissioner, Kennedy has vowed to scrutinize the safety of childhood vaccinations, despite decades of evidence they are safe and have saved millions of lives.

Marks oversaw the agency’s rapid review and approval of COVID-19 vaccines and treatments during the pandemic.

Marks is credited with coining the name and concept for “Operation Warp Speed,” the effort under President Donald Trump to rapidly manufacture vaccines while they were still being tested for safety and efficacy. The initiative cut years off the normal development process.

Despite the project’s success, Trump repeatedly lashed out at the FDA for not approving the first COVID shots even sooner. Trump told confidants after his 2020 loss that he would have been re-elected if the vaccine had been available before Election Day.

Dr. Paul Offit, a vaccine expert at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, criticized what he called the “firing” of Marks.

“RFK Jr.’s firing of Peter Marks because he wouldn’t bend a knee to his misinformation campaign now allows the fox to guard the hen house," Offit said. “It’s a sad day for America’s children.”

Former FDA Commissioner Dr. Robert Califf said the issues raised in Marks' resignation letter “should be frightening to anyone committed to the importance of evidence to guide policies and patient decisions.”

“I hope this will intensify the communication across academia, industry and government to bolster the importance of science and evidence,” he wrote.

The resignation follows news Friday that HHS plans to lay off 10,000 workers and shut down entire agencies, including ones that oversee billions of dollars in funds for addiction services and community health centers across the country.

In a post on social media Thursday, Kennedy criticized the department he oversees as an inefficient “sprawling bureaucracy." He also faulted the department’s 82,000 workers for a decline in Americans’ health.

The resignation is the latest blow to the beleaguered health agency, which has been rocked for weeks by layoffs, retirements and a chaotic return-to-office process that left many staffers without permanent offices, desks or other supplies. Last month, Jim Jones, the FDA’s deputy commissioner for foods, resigned, citing “the indiscriminate firing” of nearly 90 staffers in his division, according to a copy of his resignation letter obtained by the AP.

Marks, who could not be reached for comment, also raised concerns in his letter about “efforts currently being advanced by some on the adverse health effects of vaccination are concerning” as well as the “unprecedented assault on scientific truth that has adversely impacted public health in our nation.”

He went on to detail the historic benefits of vaccinations dating back to George Washington and pointed to the ongoing measles outbreak as proof of what can happen when doubts about science take hold.

“The ongoing multistate measles outbreak that is particularly severe in Texas reminds us of what happens when confidence in well-established science underlying public health and well-being is undermined,” he wrote.

The measles outbreak, which could go on for months, has now spread to Kansas and Ohio after sickening more than 370 in Texas and New Mexico.

If it hits other unvaccinated communities across the U.S., as may now be the case in Kansas, the outbreak could endure for a year and threaten the nation’s status as having eliminated the local spread of the vaccine-preventable disease, public health experts said.

Casey reported from Boston. Perrone reported from Washington, D.C.

FILE - Dr. Peter Marks, Director of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research within the Food and Drug Administration testifies during a Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions hearing to examine an update from Federal officials on efforts to combat COVID-19, Tuesday, May 11, 2021 on Capitol Hill in Washington. (Jim Lo Scalzo/Pool via AP, File)