ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Gunshots ended a high school graduation ceremony at the Albuquerque Convention Center on Wednesday. 

21-year-old Cristian Bencomo was taken into custody after police say he shot his stepmother.

According to APD, the victim was there to watch her biological son graduate. She reportedly told officers when she went to hug Bencomo, he pulled out a gun and shot her in the neck.

Police say a witness saw Bencomo lift up his leg as though he was going to stomp on the victim. That’s when the witness grabbed Bencomo by the belt and managed to pull him back. Then, another bystander intervened and held him down until officers arrived.

The shooting happened at Wednesday’s graduation for the Southwest Secondary Learning Center. It’s part of Southwest Charter School in Albuquerque, and the ceremony was at the Kiva Auditorium.

Mary Ward spoke exclusively with KOB 4. She’s a local pastor who was at the ceremony, supporting a graduate from her church. She said the entire evening was great until the very end of the ceremony. 

“They had made it through the whole program. It was at the very end, the students had just received their diplomas, and as the students received their diplomas they were also handed a rose. And it was right after that, it was about to be a celebration, and they said ‘OK students, go ahead and give the rose to someone who has impacted you, someone who has been meaningful to you,’ something like that,” said Ward. “All of the sudden there was this big pop, and we all got quiet, looked around, and most of us, it turned out most of us thought it was just a balloon, a celebratory balloon. But then all of the sudden, they just started shouting ‘Get down, get down.’ And it’s just overwhelming. That situation is so scary.”

Ward recorded video of police dragging a man out of the convention center shortly after the shooting.

Ward says she gave that woman’s family a ride back to a local hotel, and they claimed the shooter was the victim’s stepson. 

KOB 4 did reach out to the school Wednesday night but haven’t heard back. 

A GoFundMe for the victim, Victoria Bencomo, has been set up to help support her during her recovery journey.